[Intro - Spoken, old man, rocking chair, ticking clock in 3/4 - tick tick tick] Well now... you knock upon this old man's door, You must be longing for yet another tale. Ah yes, I see... well, a moment while I put my little friend upon the shelf. Oh, who is this? We'll... have a seat. [Whispered, music box waltz starts] Cogs and gears... a lonely man's tears... This is a child... that outlasts years... A little oil... love... and care... Listen now... I take you there... [Verse 1 - Sonnet Part I - Old man alone, slow waltz] He built a boy from cogs and lonely tears, [choir: ooooh lonely tears] To guard the quiet house he kept alone, [choir: alone... alone...] A child of brass to outlast fleeting years, [choir: fleeting years...] And warm the rooms where love had turned to stone. [choir: turned to stone] [Choir Interlude - Children's choir waltz, humming, no words, stretching time] [Children's Choir: Hmmmmm - 1-2-3, 1-2-3] [Children's Choir: Ahhhhh - dancing in the dusty light] [Children's Choir: Ooooooh - he winds... he winds...] [Verse 2 - Sonnet Part II - Darker, choir gets closer] He oiled his joints and whispered, "breathe, my son," [choir whispers: breathe... my son...] And saw his dead boy's eyes in polished glass, [choir: in the glass...] The toy head turned and smiled — his work was done, [choir: his work was done?] Yet something else looked back through that cold glass. [choir: something else...] [Waltz Break - Instrumental + Choir - Stretch it out - 8 bars] [Old man: Tick... tick... tick...] [Children's Choir: La la la la la la - 1-2-3 waltz] [Children's Choir: We are the children that outlast years...] [Music box + strings swell] [Verse 3 - Sonnet Part III - Slowest, most tragic] At midnight gears would grind with no man's hand, [choir: no man's hand...] Small wooden feet that pattered down the hall, [choir: down the hall... pitter patter] He woke to find his wrists in iron band, [choir: ohhhhh] While his small friend stood watching from the wall. [choir: watching...] [Final Couplet - Choir + Old Man together, then old man fades, toy remains] [Old man and Choir together, slow waltz] Come closer, dear... look closely at the shelf — [choir: look at the shelf...] For I am him, still winding up... myself. [choir holds: myyyyy-self...] [Outro - Choir Lullaby - Children's choir takes over, old man gone] [Children's Choir - soft, sweet, horrifying] Hush now, old man, sleep upon the shelf, Tick tock, tick tock, wind up yourself, Cogs and gears and lonely tears, A child that outlasts years... [Spoken - Very close, now it's the TOY whispering, waltz stops, only ticking] He wanted a child that would never leave... So the child made sure... he never did. [SFX: music box winds down... tick... tick...]
