[Intro - VERY LOW / RITUAL] [Low drone, distant room tone, single acoustic note] Knock. [Long pause] Not loud. Not twice. Just once. Like someone who already knows I'm home. [Male voice, low] Who is it? [Silence] [Whisper from beyond the door] You know. [Verse 1 - SPARSE / GRAVE] Wet shoes beneath the porch light. A coat that does not move in the wind. No face behind the glass. Only darkness standing very still. The hallway goes cold. The candle leans away. [Pause] I don't. [Pre-Chorus - LOW BUILD] My hand rests on the lock. His hand rests on the frame. Neither moves. Neither has to. [Chorus - BIG / DOOM] REAPER, REAPER— DON'T KNOCK SO LOW. I KNOW THAT HAND. I KNOW THAT COAT. REAPER, REAPER— WAIT OUTSIDE. I'VE STILL GOT FIRE LEFT TONIGHT. [Post-Chorus - QUIET] [Whisper] No. [Verse 2 - DARKER] I say: “Another year.” [Whisper] No. “Another night.” No. “An hour.” [Long pause] The floorboards creak. Not under me. [Very calm voice] Put on your coat. [Low Hammond enters] The clock on the wall stops breathing. The room becomes enormous. And somewhere beneath the house— earth smells freshly opened. [Pre-Chorus 2 - RISING] The door is still closed. But somehow he is closer. [Pause] Much closer. [Chorus - HEAVIER] REAPER, REAPER— DON'T KNOCK SO LOW. I KNOW THAT HAND. I KNOW THAT COAT. REAPER, REAPER— I HEAR YOUR STEP. DON'T SAY MY NAME— [STOP] I KNOW IT YET. [Bridge - VERY LOW / DIALOGUE] [Only drone, faint foot-stomp] “What happens when I open?” [Silence] “Nothing.” [Pause] “What happens if I don't?” [Longer silence] “Nothing.” [Low breath] “Then why are you here?” [Very close whisper] Because you are. [Instrumental Build] [Floor toms, Hammond, fuzz guitar slowly rising] [Spoken / THEATRICAL] No chains. No thunder. No screaming sky. No horse at the gate. Just one hand on the door. Patient. Polite. Still. [Pause] Death never kicks it in. [Whisper] He knocks. [Final Chorus - HIGHEST] REAPER, REAPER— KNOCK ONCE MORE. I'VE HEARD THAT SOUND BEFORE. REAPER, REAPER— NO NEED TO HIDE. THE NIGHT IS COLD. [Pause] COME INSIDE. [Massive hit] REAPER, REAPER— TAKE MY HAND. NO CROWN. NO CROSS. NO FINAL STAND. JUST OPEN WHAT I COULDN'T SEE— [STOP] AND WALK THE DARK WITH ME. [Outro - VERY LOW] [Door slowly opens] No thunder. No light. Only wind. [Pause] Footsteps. Two sets. Then— [Long silence] one. [Whisper] Close the door.
