[Intro: The sound of a dial tuning through static. A rhythmic, mechanical bass thud (like a radiator banging) provides the beat. No melody.] [Verse 1: Vocals are dry, close. A whisper. The delivery is flat, factual.] The static on the radio cuts out. The humming of the fridge dies down. I saw a man in a gray suit Taking off his boots In the middle of the street. He left them there. He just left them there. (Left them there) [Verse 2: Piano chords strike—diminished key. The tempo picks up slightly.] The screens said the count was ninety-nine to one. They said the war was won before it had begun. But the anchor on the evening news? He just laughed. He just laughed and took off his mic. And the tally board went blank. (It went blank) [Verse 3: Tempo accelerates. Guitar enters—fast, frantic, joyous. The energy is infectious.] Downtown, the vans came for the corner store. To kick down the door like they did before. But the neighborhood came out in the freezing rain. To break the wheel and break the chain. They stood in front of the tires. And the drivers turned around. (Turned around) The drivers turned around! (Turned around!) [Bridge: Full Wall of Sound. Cacophony. It sounds like a revolution. The vocals are screaming, ecstatic.] And listen! Frequency 99! It’s playing that song they banned in '09! It’s playing in the taxis! It’s playing in the jails! The artists are coming back! The minister of truth just got the sack! It’s finally— (over.) (It's over) [The Cut: The music stops abruptly. No reverb. No decay. Complete silence for two seconds.] [Outro: The mechanical thud bass beat from the Intro returns, slow and cold. The vocals are dry, spoken, sounding exhausted and defeated.] It's all over. The radio plays a patriotic theme The president posts an awful meme The market crashed and spiked; It was another scheme And the glass... The glass is still on the floor. (Don't wake up) It was just a flicker. (Don't wake up) It was just a flicker. [Fade Out: The mechanical thud continues alone, then slows down until it stops.]
