[Intro — eerie distorted calliope, distant carnival laughter, whispered female vocal] Step right up… One ticket buys you forever. [Verse 1 — low mysterious female vocal] Red lights glowing past the trees, calliope riding on the breeze. Ferris wheel turning with no crowd, but I hear children laughing loud. Painted horses bare their teeth, wooden eyes keep watching me. Ticket booth says OPEN WIDE, though no one’s sitting there inside. [Pre-Chorus — drums building, creepy carnival bells] Tickets please. Tickets please. The dead ride free. [Chorus — huge theatrical gothic-rock chorus] Welcome to the Midnight Carnival, where the rides don’t ever stop. Round and round until you’re dizzy, up and down until you drop. Cotton candy tastes like ashes, clowns are smiling way too wide. At the Midnight Carnival, every ticket is one-way tonight. [Verse 2 — stronger rhythm, sinister carnival atmosphere] Mirror maze reflects me wrong, one reflection moves along. I stop walking. She does not. Then she smiles from another spot. Carousel begins to spin, something underneath crawls in. Every painted horse turns red, someone whispers— “Choose your ride.” [Pre-Chorus — rising tension] Tickets please. Tickets please. The dead ride free. [Chorus — bigger drums, choir backing] Welcome to the Midnight Carnival, where the rides don’t ever stop. Round and round until you’re dizzy, up and down until you drop. Cotton candy tastes like ashes, clowns are smiling way too wide. At the Midnight Carnival, every ticket is one-way tonight. [Bridge — Aizen cameo, sinister theatrical male vocal, Crimson Jester, low spoken-sung delivery] Then through the red carnival haze, Aizen stood beneath the blaze. Crimson jester, bells and chains, smiling like he knew my name. He tipped his head and bowed real slow. “Lost already? You’ve barely seen the show.” He pointed toward the funhouse door, where shadows crawled across the floor. Then laughed beneath the crimson light— “Come along. The dead ride free tonight.” [Breakdown — heavy cinematic drums, distorted carnival organ] Ferris wheel. No operator. Funhouse door. No way out. Roller coaster. Empty seats. Then the safety bar locks over me. [Final Chorus — massive horror anthem] Welcome to the Midnight Carnival, now the gates have disappeared. Every ride is running faster, every laugh is in my ear. Calliope keeps screaming louder, all the lights turn crimson red. At the Midnight Carnival— the final ride is for the dead. [Outro — warped calliope slowing down, distant laughter] [Male whisper — Aizen] Enjoy the ride. [Female whisper] I never bought a ticket. [Distorted carnival announcer] You didn’t need one.
