Verse 1 Chords: Em C G D Midnight on the frozen parade Paper crowns and jackets frayed Neon halos over cheap red dye Marching bands of half-awake eyes Snowflakes on the cracked cement Plastic saints, overdue rent I hear sticks on rusted railings ring Like a broken carol trying to sing Pre-Chorus Chords: C D Em B7 You said this year we’d run away But the drums keep calling us to stay Every beat spells out our names In crooked candy-striped refrains Chorus Chords: G D Em C Bang, bang, hearts like candycane drummers Crashing through the frostbit summers Red and white stripes on a black-ice night We’re the kids who never got it right Bang, bang, march into the shimmer Streetlight crown on every sinner If the world forgets our numbers We’ll still roar like candycane drummers Verse 2 Chords: Em C G D Backstage in the gym-floor glow Glitter masks, a cheap light show You tune your cracked red Jaguar tight Swear this song might finally rewrite your life Choir robes in the hallway hum Someone’s humming where we’re from You tap four on an amp side, grin “Ready? Let the soft apocalypse begin.” Pre-Chorus Chords: C D Em B7 We’re the flaws the season hides Tinsel ghosts with sharpened strides Every downbeat, every shout Is one more way to claw our way out Chorus Chords: G D Em C Bang, bang, hearts like candycane drummers Crashing through the frostbit summers Red and white stripes on a black-ice night We’re the kids who never got it right Bang, bang, march into the shimmer Streetlight crown on every sinner If the world forgets our numbers We’ll still roar like candycane drummers Bridge (Rock-Opera Section) Chords: Am C Em B7 Choir in the rafters, voices in flight You raise your hand and cut the night “On the count of four, rewrite the scene Turn this gym into a fever dream.” One for every broken plan Two for every failed “I can” Three for all the almost lovers Four—now hit like thunder Final Chorus (bigger, more dramatic) Chords: G D Em C Bang, bang, hearts like candycane drummers Painting scars on silent summers Red and white storms through the stereo light We’re the ones who’ll never fade to white Bang, bang, flood the dark with color Every misfit, every other If the world erases our numbers We’ll still live as candycane drummers Outro Chords: Em C G D When the last bell tolls and the halls go dim We leave our sticks on the stage, still humming the hymn If someone finds them in another year They’ll know we were loud And we were here
