[Intro] [distant docked starships humming far behind, market crowd, steam hiss, wordless choir high and wide] [no drums, an old man's voice cuts through, no radio now] [Vendor Chant] [old man at his cart, dry and close, no radio, drums follow every syllable] Kuiper whiskey, Kuiper whiskey coconut lemon banana, banana slivovitz lemon [Verse 1] [quiet close croon, conversational] Market under tarps steam and neon green old man with a cart calling out the beat [short silence] Every word he calls my hands know the hit every crate I brought has a rhythm in it [Chorus] [stacked hook harmonies, sidechain bass breathing] He said back so soon (just now) like he watched me all the way set it on the scale never asked me what to pay I said first time here he just smiled and weighed it out said it's on the tab (on the tab) always was, no doubt [Verse 2] [distortion on the word scale] Never borrowed once never signed a line how's a tab get open on a name that isn't mine [short silence] Took the coins he gave counted them in steam felt the city warm me softer than it seems [Bridge] [everything drops out except the chant drums and a brass scale clicking] Kuiper whiskey [silence] [the scale settles with one click] [Vendor Chant] [old man at his cart, drums follow every syllable] Kuiper whiskey, Kuiper whiskey coconut lemon banana, banana slivovitz lemon [Chorus] [stacked hook harmonies, full choir wide behind] He said back so soon (just now) like he watched me all the way set it on the scale never asked me what to pay I said first time here he just smiled and weighed it out said it's on the tab (on the tab) always was, no doubt [Outro] [market crowd, steam, chant fading to one word] Slivovitz [hard cut, no fade]
