YOU CAN HAUNT ME, BUT YOU CAN’T HAVE ME

[VOCALS: Bride—female low-mid smoky chest voice, close and dry; conversational sarcasm escalating into direct, forceful defiance] [INTRO — spoken, dry and unimpressed] [Near-silence, faint low synth, no beat. Close, dry vocal; deliberate pauses.] Red silk. Red candles. Incense in the air. A wedding for a dead man. Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me. [VERSE 1 — clipped, conversational] [Minimal R&B groove; rounded bass, dry percussion, generous space. Add subtle rhythmic layers as the verse progresses.] [VOCAL: Understated, sardonic, almost spoken-sung.] Well, we dated before. Or rather, you pursued me through my parents. You sent the gifts, you made your case, They liked your name, your house, your face. [Brief bass drop between thoughts.] Then you died before the wedding day. I thought, how sad. Well, that’s that, anyway. Perhaps I’ll find a man who’s breathing, Someone with a future worth believing. [A second synth pulse enters; a faint reversed vocal texture appears at the stereo edge.] But no, your family has other plans. Apparently, death doesn’t change a damn thing. The match was made, the word was given— And I’m the one who’s got to live in it? [TRANSITION: One beat of near-silence, then a rising rhythmic pulse.] [PRE-CHORUS — building tension] [Ticking percussion, muted toms and rising synth pulse; increasingly insistent bass.] [VOCAL: Measured, pointed and increasingly exasperated] Family honour, filial duty, Keep the promise, preserve the unity. Burn the incense, dress me in red— You’d think I was marrying a man, not the dead. They pick the date, they make it official, Tell me the outcome is somehow beneficial. You say it’s fate. You say it’s right. You say the rites must be performed tonight. [Bass drops on “tonight”.] Well, I’ve got one small objection— [CHORUS — heavy bass, sharp and defiant] [Full electronic drums, distorted sub-bass and clipped synth stabs. Powerful, catchy and rhythmically precise.] [VOCAL: Strong chest voice, tight doubles, no screaming.] YOU CAN HAUNT ME, BUT YOU CAN’T HAVE ME! Dead or alive, you don’t get to claim me! Red silk, red flags, what a wedding night! You can keep the ring, I’m keeping my life! You can haunt me, you can call my name, You can rattle every windowpane. You can have your rites, your vows, your family— YOU CAN HAUNT ME, BUT YOU CAN’T HAVE ME! [TRANSITION: Abruptly choke the instrumental into a distorted vocal tail.] [VERSE 2 — colder, tighter] [PRODUCTION: Skeletal beat, dry bass and sparse high synth notes.] [VOCAL: Cool, clipped and increasingly irritated.] Dress me in red, let candles burn. Everybody’s waiting for me to turn. The offerings are ready, the incense curls, I’m being wed to a ghost against my will. They tell me a promise is a promise, dear. Funny how my own wishes disappear. Your family gets honour, the ancestors get peace. And what exactly do I get out of this? A husband I barely knew? A future I can’t choose? A lifetime of devotion to a man who cannot move? I hope you understand why I’m not thrilled. I’ve had more romantic prospects from the ill-willed. [TRANSITION: Strip away percussion; an indistinct male vocal texture enters.] [PRE-CHORUS 2 — unease interrupts the sarcasm] [Familiar rising pulse with one subtly displaced accent.] Family honour, filial duty, Everyone’s concerned with everybody but me. Burn the incense, let the last flame rise— Wait. [Beat cuts completely on “Wait”. No sting.] [Quiet, involuntary, suddenly alert.] Did you just whispered? [CHORUS — Defiant, Full groove returns] YOU CAN HAUNT ME, BUT YOU CAN’T HAVE ME! Dead or alive, you don’t get to claim me! Red silk, red flags, what a wedding night! You can keep the ring, I’m keeping my life! You can haunt me, you can call my name, You can rattle every windowpane. You can have your rites, your vows, your family— YOU CAN HAUNT ME, BUT YOU CAN’T HAVE ME! [VERSE 3 — stripped-back, intimate] [Narrow stereo image, sparse kick and bass pulses.] [VOCAL: Dry, sardonic narration, gradually giving way to genuine irritation.] Well, look who’s here. How unexpected. A dead man’s face in the mirror’s reflection. A shadow at the window, a creak beside the bed. Darling, I thought we covered this. You’re dead. Now you’re in my bedroom. You’re there when I sleep. You stand by the doorway, just watching me breathe. I close the curtains. You’re already inside. Honestly, what part of no did you leave behind? You lurk in the corner. You follow me around. I turn to look, and you don’t make a sound. You think this is romance? You think this is fate? YOU HAVE BEEN DEAD FOR WEEKS. CAN YOU NOT BE LATE? [Brief bass accent, then return to the sparse groove] [PRE-CHORUS 3 — unease interrupts the sarcasm] Till death do us part? Oh you missed that mark. You had one job — stay alive. You want a wife? Get a life. Oh, wait — you tried. [Bass drops on “tried”.] And failed. [CHORUS — Defiant, Full groove returns] YOU CAN HAUNT ME, BUT YOU CAN’T HAVE ME! Dead or alive, you don’t get to claim me!