[Opening — ice scrape, one voice close and tense] (inhale) The mountain blinked… (short laugh, uneasy) The mountain let go. [Verse I — clipped, tense] A clean blue morning with a loaded spine (too quiet…) Snow held its breath above the pines One thin fracture, bright as wire— Tch! Then the whole world lost its higher ground Yuki no koe ga kikoeru I hear the snow speak Not a warning— (no, no, no…) A verdict with no tongue [Acceleration — drums enter in bursts] The ridge unbuttons—GO! The valley waits—MOVE! My shadow runs Three seconds late [Pre-Chorus — rising gang shouts] HEY! HEY! Don’t let go! HEY! HEY! Not this slow! (Breath—breath—breath!) The white is moving— RUN! [Chorus — English only, gang response] WHITEOUT CROWN! (Whoa-oh!) BURY THE SUN! WHITEOUT CROWN! (Whoa-oh!) THE FALL HAS BEGUN! No sky above me—(above me!) No earth below—(below!) I am a pulse Inside the snow! WHITEOUT CROWN! (Hey!) DON’T CLOSE MY EYES! I won’t become The silence under ice! [Verse II — high/low trade, breathless] Pine trees snap like brittle ribs (Crack! Crack!) Stone and snow erase the cliff My hands are maps without a road (Where do I go?) My breath is stolen by the cold Shiroi yami ni nomareru Swallowed by white darkness The mountain keeps What the mountain takes (Take it—take it—take it!) [Breakdown — half-time, stomping] NO AIR! (No air!) NO LIGHT! (No light!) Hold on— Hold on— THROUGH THE WHITE! NO AIR! (No air!) NO SOUND! (No sound!) The whole sky— IS COMING DOWN! [Final Chorus — fast, layered re-entry] WHITEOUT CROWN! (Whoa-oh!) BURY THE SUN! WHITEOUT CROWN! (Whoa-oh!) THE FALL HAS BEGUN! No sky above me—(above me!) No earth below—(below!) I am a pulse Inside the snow! WHITEOUT CROWN! I BREAK THE ICE! (Break it!) I won’t become The silence under ice! [Exit — breath cuts off, one ice crack] (gasp) The mountain is still. That is the worst part.
