DAVULLAR SUSARSA (When the Drums Fall Silent) A2

Inara

Starfall

Inara

Anatolian ritual doom metal, dark progressive post-metal, Turkish folk horror

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[Intro: single davul pulse, dry hide, distant bathhouse dripping]
[V1: spoken, barely above the drum]
Bir vuruş daha... bir vuruş daha... (One more beat... one more beat...)
Sakın saymayı bırakma. (Don't you dare stop counting.)
My father never called it music.
He called it the time we had left.

[Verse 1: davul continues, plucked bağlama, bowed kemençe]
She said she'd visit the baths at dawn,
Then join a wedding after dark.
Şahmaran hamama gitti, (Şahmaran went to the bathhouse,)
Sır sıcak taşlara gömüldü. (The secret was buried beneath the warm stones.)
They boiled the queen to cure a king,
And called the price a merciful thing.
Yılanlar bekler yer altında; (The serpents wait underground;)
Davul sesini düğün sanırlar. (They mistake the drumbeat for a wedding.)
They cannot know she never returned;
The wedding must go on and on.
We taught our children how to drum
Before we taught them right from wrong.
Bu köyde sessizlik yasak; (Silence is forbidden in this village;)
Toprak duyar, taşlar anlatır. (The earth hears; the stones tell.)

[Pre-Chorus: scraped strings, bass swells, davul uninterrupted]
A silence tells a different story.
A missing beat becomes a name.
Şahmaran öldü, bilmesinler. (Şahmaran is dead—let them not know.)
Davul durursa, yılanlar duyar. (If the drum stops, the serpents will hear.)
My father made me swear the same.

[Chorus: crushing ritual post-metal riff, davul prominent, solo savage melody]
DAVULLAR SUSARSA! (IF THE DRUMS FALL SILENT!)
They'll know what we have done!
DAVULLAR SUSARSA! (IF THE DRUMS FALL SILENT!)
They'll come for everyone!
Vur davula! Sakın durma! (Beat the drum! Whatever you do, don't stop!)
Let the false wedding carry on.
Every beat conceals a murder;
Every silence calls them home!

[Interlude: relentless davul, kemençe twists, guitar scrapes against stone]

[Verse 2: intimate bass pulse, relentless drum beneath vocal]
For sixty winters father held
The same red mallet in his fist.
Babamın avucu kanadı, (My father's palm bled,)
Yine de ritmi bırakmadı. (Yet he never abandoned the rhythm.)
The younger children called him mad,
But no one slept without the sound.
Bu gece yüzü bembeyazdı, (Tonight his face was deathly pale,)
Başını davula yasladı. (He rested his head against the drum.)
His heart gave out between two strokes;
I caught the mallet as he fell.
Sözü yarım, nefesi bitti. (His words were unfinished; his breath ran out.)
I struck the hide with shaking hands,
And heard another beat as well.

[Pre-Chorus 2: whispered, low bass, drum close and dry]
Bir vuruş... iki yankı. (One beat... two echoes.)
One from the skin. One from below.
Yerin altı kulak kesildi. (The world beneath had become all ears.)
The earth was counting what I owed.

[Chorus: heavier low guitars, full percussion, drum remains steady]
DAVULLAR SUSARSA! (IF THE DRUMS FALL SILENT!)
They'll know what we have done!
DAVULLAR SUSARSA! (IF THE DRUMS FALL SILENT!)
They'll come for everyone!
Vur davula! Sakın durma! (Beat the drum! Whatever you do, don't stop!)
Let the false wedding carry on.
Every beat conceals a murder;
Every silence calls them home!

[Bridge: guitars die, solitary davul continues, bowed cello, close whisper]
Beneath the ancient bathhouse floor,
Something touched the tiles from underneath.
I heard no hiss. I heard no cry.
I heard a thousand scales on stone.
Toprak nefes alıp veriyor. (The earth is breathing in and out.)
Babamın eli artık soğuk, (My father's hand is cold now,)
Ama davul hâlâ sıcak. (But the drum is still warm.)
They won't come rising out of hunger.
They'll come because she never came back.
And every roof above their kingdom
Was built upon that broken promise.

[Breakdown: davul only, two breaths between strokes, no drum dropout]
[V1: frightened, speaking into silence around the beat]
The first knock sounded under the stove.
The second answered under my feet.
The third arrived before I struck.
It knew the pattern of my hands.
Ritmi ezberlemişler. (They've memorized the rhythm.)
Bir vuruş daha... bir vuruş daha... (One more beat... one more beat...)
And something underneath began to breathe.

[Final Chorus: colossal distorted bass, ferocious davul, single lead, no choir]
DAVULLAR SUSARSA! (IF THE DRUMS FALL SILENT!)
They'll know what we have done!
DAVULLAR SUSARSA! (IF THE DRUMS FALL SILENT!)
They'll come for everyone!
Vur davula! Sakın durma! (Beat the drum! Whatever you do, don't stop!)
Let the false wedding carry on!
Every beat conceals a murder;
Every silence calls them home!

[Outro: guitars and strings collapse, davul alone, pulse weakens]
[V1: exhausted, fingers weakening]
I watched my father's hand go still.
I thought my own would never fail.
Parmaklarım uyuşuyor... (My fingers are going numb...)
Bir vuruş daha, baba... (One more beat, Father...)
One more beat. That's all I have.

[Final beat: one enormous davul strike, mallet clatters, absolute silence]
[V1: breathless whisper, dry]
Düğün bitti. (The wedding is over.)
Artık biliyorlar. (Now they know.)
[Subfloor: a colossal scaled body shifts beneath the house, timber bends, stone grinds, no music]
[End]

5374/7500

[Cast: V1 Inara] [V1: gritty female alto, precise Turkish, low chest rasp, intimate dread, violent melodic hooks, solitary lead] [Tempo: 96 BPM] [Key: D Hicaz, dissonant minor undertone] [Pulse: unbroken 4/4 davul, crooked 9/8 accents] [Rule: the davul never stops until the final beat] [Intro: single davul pulse, dry hide, distant bathhouse dripping] [V1: spoken, barely above the drum] Bir vuruş daha... bir vuruş daha... (One more beat... one more beat...) Sakın saymayı bırakma. (Don't you dare stop counting.) My father never called it music. He called it the time we had left. [Verse 1: davul continues, plucked bağlama, bowed kemençe] She said she'd visit the baths at dawn, Then join a wedding after dark. Şahmaran hamama gitti, (Şahmaran went to the bathhouse,) Sır sıcak taşlara gömüldü. (The secret was buried beneath the warm stones.) They boiled the queen to cure a king, And called the price a merciful thing. Yılanlar bekler yer altında; (The serpents wait underground;) Davul sesini düğün sanırlar. (They mistake the drumbeat for a wedding.) They cannot know she never returned; The wedding must go on and on. We taught our children how to drum Before we taught them right from wrong. Bu köyde sessizlik yasak; (Silence is forbidden in this village;) Toprak duyar, taşlar anlatır. (The earth hears; the stones tell.) [Pre-Chorus: scraped strings, bass swells, davul uninterrupted] A silence tells a different story. A missing beat becomes a name. Şahmaran öldü, bilmesinler. (Şahmaran is dead—let them not know.) Davul durursa, yılanlar duyar. (If the drum stops, the serpents will hear.) My father made me swear the same. [Chorus: crushing ritual post-metal riff, davul prominent, solo savage melody] DAVULLAR SUSARSA! (IF THE DRUMS FALL SILENT!) They'll know what we have done! DAVULLAR SUSARSA! (IF THE DRUMS FALL SILENT!) They'll come for everyone! Vur davula! Sakın durma! (Beat the drum! Whatever you do, don't stop!) Let the false wedding carry on. Every beat conceals a murder; Every silence calls them home! [Interlude: relentless davul, kemençe twists, guitar scrapes against stone] [Verse 2: intimate bass pulse, relentless drum beneath vocal] For sixty winters father held The same red mallet in his fist. Babamın avucu kanadı, (My father's palm bled,) Yine de ritmi bırakmadı. (Yet he never abandoned the rhythm.) The younger children called him mad, But no one slept without the sound. Bu gece yüzü bembeyazdı, (Tonight his face was deathly pale,) Başını davula yasladı. (He rested his head against the drum.) His heart gave out between two strokes; I caught the mallet as he fell. Sözü yarım, nefesi bitti. (His words were unfinished; his breath ran out.) I struck the hide with shaking hands, And heard another beat as well. [Pre-Chorus 2: whispered, low bass, drum close and dry] Bir vuruş... iki yankı. (One beat... two echoes.) One from the skin. One from below. Yerin altı kulak kesildi. (The world beneath had become all ears.) The earth was counting what I owed. [Chorus: heavier low guitars, full percussion, drum remains steady] DAVULLAR SUSARSA! (IF THE DRUMS FALL SILENT!) They'll know what we have done! DAVULLAR SUSARSA! (IF THE DRUMS FALL SILENT!) They'll come for everyone! Vur davula! Sakın durma! (Beat the drum! Whatever you do, don't stop!) Let the false wedding carry on. Every beat conceals a murder; Every silence calls them home! [Bridge: guitars die, solitary davul continues, bowed cello, close whisper] Beneath the ancient bathhouse floor, Something touched the tiles from underneath. I heard no hiss. I heard no cry. I heard a thousand scales on stone. Toprak nefes alıp veriyor. (The earth is breathing in and out.) Babamın eli artık soğuk, (My father's hand is cold now,) Ama davul hâlâ sıcak. (But the drum is still warm.) They won't come rising out of hunger. They'll come because she never came back. And every roof above their kingdom Was built upon that broken promise. [Breakdown: davul only, two breaths between strokes, no drum dropout] [V1: frightened, speaking into silence around the beat] The first knock sounded under the stove. The second answered under my feet. The third arrived before I struck. It knew the pattern of my hands. Ritmi ezberlemişler. (They've memorized the rhythm.) Bir vuruş daha... bir vuruş daha... (One more beat... one more beat...) And something underneath began to breathe. [Final Chorus: colossal distorted bass, ferocious davul, single lead, no choir] DAVULLAR SUSARSA! (IF THE DRUMS FALL SILENT!) They'll know what we have done! DAVULLAR SUSARSA! (IF THE DRUMS FALL SILENT!) They'll come for everyone! Vur davula! Sakın durma! (Beat the drum! Whatever you do, don't stop!) Let the false wedding carry on! Every beat conceals a murder; Every silence calls them home! [Outro: guitars and strings collapse, davul alone, pulse weakens] [V1: exhausted, fingers weakening] I watched my father's hand go still. I thought my own would never fail. Parmaklarım uyuşuyor... (My fingers are going numb...) Bir vuruş daha, baba... (One more beat, Father...) One more beat. That's all I have. [Final beat: one enormous davul strike, mallet clatters, absolute silence] [V1: breathless whisper, dry] Düğün bitti. (The wedding is over.) Artık biliyorlar. (Now they know.) [Subfloor: a colossal scaled body shifts beneath the house, timber bends, stone grinds, no music] [End]

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