[Intro: snare tap, cello drone] Second skin Closing time [Hook: female MC, whispered doubles] Second skin, second skin, zip it up slow Every year one mask that nobody wants to own I don't sell it, I don't shelve it, I don't hide Second skin, motherfucker, I put it on tonight [Verse 1: half-time, cello and bells] Pop-up shop in a lot by the fair Folding tables, foam heads, and a line down the stair Kids want blood, teens want fangs, dads want a joke I cut foam and glue seams 'til my fingertips smoke Every October one face never leaves the rack Too plain, too quiet, customers hand it back I named it nothing, priced it low, turned it to the wall Still it watched me sweepin' glitter off the floor each nightfall Sister used to help me 'til she moved out west Said I loved the ugly ones a little too much, I guess She ain't wrong, I talk to 'em when the lot goes dead Told this one, "hang tight, somebody's gonna want that head" [Hook: female MC, whispered doubles] Second skin, second skin, zip it up slow Every year one mask that nobody wants to own I don't sell it, I don't shelve it, I don't hide Second skin, motherfucker, I put it on tonight [Verse 2: marching snares climb] Halloween rush, sold out of the gore Sold out of the presidents, the pigs and the war Left with sequins, left with smiles, left with that blank face A woman asked the price, then she put it back in place Said it looked too much like somebody she used to know I said, "lady, that's the point," and I watched her go Nine o'clock, lot empty, generator dies I wind the string of lights and I look it in the eyes Tried it on for sizing like I do with every piece Felt the foam go warm like it found a little peace Zipper on the spine, breathin' through the mesh For the first time all month I ain't cleanin' up a mess [Drop: snares cut, cello holds] Click Lock from the outside [Beat Switch: double-time march, bells hammering] I don't take it off when I hit the street Don't take it off for the cops or the kids that I meet Porch lights blink, candy bowls, somebody screams for fun I walk past slow and they can't tell which way I run I ain't hauntin' nobody, ain't chasin' a debt I'm just wearin' the face that the whole block rejects Every pretty mask sold, every joke face gone I'm the face they handed back, and I'm keepin' it on Sister texts me "you closin' early?" and I type with a thumb "Shop's locked. I'm fine. Don't wait up. I'm someone." [Verse 3: half-time, cello alone, then snares slam] Dawn on the asphalt, foam still on my jaw Coffee through the mesh and a crow on the awning like a law I could peel it, fold it, put it back on the nail Instead I tip the mirror and I practice my new pale Some faces you sell, some faces you rent This one fit like a promise that I never meant [Final Hook: female MC, full march] Second skin, second skin, zip it up slow Every year one mask that nobody wants to own I don't sell it, I don't shelve it, I don't hide Second skin, motherfucker, I keep it on for life [Outro: snare, distant bell] Closing time Keep the change
