THE SCREAM THAT LEARNED MY VOICE

[Intro — nervous fiddle; distant, wordless cry] “A fox,” I told my wife. “Just a fox.” [Verse 1 — deep male vocal; sparse scraping strings] The first night came a broken cry Across the winter wheat. The dogs went quiet in their yards; No footsteps crossed the street. By Friday, something in that sound Had found my cough, my breath— The little laugh I give my wife When there’s nothing funny left. [Pre-Chorus — bass pulse; growing unease] At dawn it called, “Don’t touch the glass.” By noon, the shelf gave way. I caught her reaching for the shards— And knew what I would say. [Chorus — huge riffs; urgent melodic vocal] The scream that learned my voice Has found a way inside. It knows the words I’ll say tomorrow And the way I’ll beg for time. Last night it screamed behind the trees— Tonight it knows the words. Don’t let that be my ending. Don’t let me say what I just heard. [Verse 2 — crooked fiddle; restrained menace] I wrote its words beside the stove And crossed them out each day. A warning given hours before Became a breath’s delay. Then someone called my wife’s pet name From where no path should be. She smiled before she saw my face: “Why are you calling me?” [Pre-Chorus — instruments cut between phrases] I shut my mouth. It called again. She looked at me— Then reached to let it in. [Chorus — heavier drums; distant vocal double] The scream that learned my voice Has found a way inside. It knows the words I’ll say tomorrow And the way I’ll beg for time. Last night it screamed behind the trees— Tonight it knows the words. Don’t let that be my ending. Don’t let me say what I just heard. [Bridge — near-spoken; low bowed strings] They call it Drekavac. They tell me, “Let it cry.” But none of them have heard their voice Rehearse the way they’ll die. [Sudden silence] [Fast Break — violent double-time; frantic fiddle] I shout, “Stay back!”—it says it first. I cry, “Who’s there?”—it’s done. Each word arrives a heartbeat early, Two voices closing into one. I bite the warning off halfway— It finishes the line. My wife asks, “Which of you is out there?” Both voices answer, “I’m inside.” [Final Chorus — desperate, soaring; relentless guitars] The scream that learned my voice Has nothing left to learn. Her hand is resting on the lock; The iron starts to turn. Last night it screamed behind the trees— Tonight it knows the words. I open up my mouth to warn her— And only that first scream returns. [Outro — hard stop; the same male voice, warm and reassuring, outside the door] “It’s only me. You know my voice.”