"Steady Business" [Interlude - Sam (female)] (A slow, mournful slide guitar echoes in the dark. The sound of a heavy whiskey glass hitting a wooden bar top. Spoken word, smooth and cinematic.) Death is a businessman, sure as day. He don't take things personal, just comes around to collect what's due. But for a long spell, he had him a favorite contractor, yessir. They used to ride shotgun together, two-lane backroads and red-clay ruts, cutting through pine thickets and hollers, grinning like they knew every loose board in the barn. Now the reaper just sits there, tapping his boot, nursing stale coffee and staring at an empty ledger like it's turned stubborn on him. He sure does miss the old days, when his best supplier was out there making his rounds past the feed store and the county line. [Verse 1 - Matt (male)] (A slow, heavy bass drum kicks in—a heartbeat pace. A gritty acoustic guitar picks a muddy blues riff. Voice is low, conversational, and a little amused.) I got an old acquaintance wearing a faded black hood We used to run together back when the running was good I kept his schedule heavy, I kept his pockets lined I left a trail of chaos for him to walk behind He never had to worry 'bout hitting his quota for the week He just followed the lightning and the havoc of my streak We had a partnership of violence, an unspoken guarantee If there was trouble in the city, he could count on me. [Pre-Chorus - Matt (male) & Sam (female)] (A distorted electric guitar starts to hum, building the tension.) (Matt - male) Now he’s sitting in the shadows... (Sam - female) ...staring at the phone. (Matt - male) He’s got an empty cargo... (Sam - female) ...and he’s drinking all alone. [Chorus - Matt (male) & Sam (female)] (The full band drops in with a sludgy, swaggering blues-metal groove. The talk box cries out like a lost ghost.) (Matt - male) Oh, the reaper misses the steady business! (Sam - female) He misses the fire, he misses the sickness! (Matt - male) He misses the man with the heavy iron hand, Who used to bring the thunder all across the land! He keeps knocking on the gate, he keeps rattling the chain, (Both) But the mechanic is retired and he ain't playing the game! [Verse 2 - Matt (male)] (The beat pulls back to just the bass and drums, dirty and stripped down.) He sends a phantom message blowing on the coastal breeze Saying, "Come back to the mainland, bring 'em back to their knees!" He says the new kids on the block just don't do it right They don't have the absolute madness, they don't have the bite He misses the .380, he misses the laser sight He misses the way I used to own the dead of night But I just sit out on the island, watch the saltwater roll And leave the grim reaper with a hole in his soul. [Pre-Chorus - Matt (male) & Sam (female)] (The slide guitar returns, weeping and loud.) (Matt - male) His scythe is getting rusty... (Sam - female) ...his boots are gathering dust. (Matt - male) He lost his heavy hitter... (Sam - female) ...he lost his only trust. [Chorus - Matt (male) & Sam (female)] (Maximum volume, the beat stomping hard and heavy.) (Matt - male) Oh, the reaper misses the steady business! (Sam - female) He misses the fire, he misses the sickness! (Matt - male) He misses the man with the heavy iron hand, Who used to bring the thunder all across the land! He keeps knocking on the gate, he keeps rattling the chain, (Both) But the mechanic is retired and he ain't playing the game! [Bridge - Matt (male)] (Everything drops out except for a slow, rhythmic clapping and the heavy thump of the kick drum. Spoken in a low, arrogant drawl.) Sorry, old friend. The shop is closed. The island is peaceful. You're gonna have to find yourself a new supplier... Because this one is out of stock. [Outro - Sam (female) & Matt (male)] (The muddy blues riff plays out slowly. The sound of waves crashing on the shore.) (Sam - female - singing a low, smoky melody) He’s waiting in the dark... but the dark is all he's got... (Matt - male - spoken, a low chuckle) Tell him to lose my number. (The sound of a match striking, a slow exhale of smoke, and the track fades into silence.)
