[Intro] [Single, slow, spaced-out grand piano chords] [A very soft, distant accordion swell] [Brushed drums enter whispering a slow jazz pulse] [Verse 1] Minus twenty in Quebec City My eyelashes are frozen solid (Mon Dieu il fait si froid) Selling cheese is just my story But I hunt a secret formula [Instrumental Break] [Two bars of a lonely, playful clarinet solo over a soft bass pluck] [Verse 2] Hidden inside the goat cheese The snow is blocking the door (Tabarnak c'est l'enfer) My contact missed the tavern Left a code I cannot read [Instrumental Break] [Short, smoky muted trumpet sigh, very minimal and quiet] [Pre-Chorus] [Music swells slightly, piano becomes more syncopated] Walking down Grande Allée Slipping on the black ice This game used to be nice But now I’m in the dark [Chorus] [Fuller arrangement, elegant, theatrical and incredibly catchy] Oh, secret letters from the cold Burn after reading (Brûle-le tout de suite) Under the winter neon light The accordion cries tonight It's just a freezing spy Waiting for the curtain to fall [Instrumental Break] [Detailed and elegant breakdown: Piano plays a sophisticated, sparse jazz melody, then an acoustic accordion enters with a melancholic, retro-cinematic French-Canadian motif. Brushed drums keep a very steady, slow pace] [Verse 3] Numb fingers on my Walther gun Buried in a snowbank today (Crisse que j'haïs la neige) The target eats a warm poutine While the world is at stake [Instrumental Break] [Sudden rhythmic pause, a single dramatic clarinet note fades in and out] [Chorus] [Full arrangement, passionate, smooth and sweeping] Oh, secret letters from the cold Burn after reading (Brûle-le tout de suite) Under the winter neon light The accordion cries tonight It's just a freezing spy Waiting for the curtain to fall [Instrumental Break] [Muted trumpet and clarinet playing in a quiet, mysterious unison, a retro spy-movie hook] [Outro] [Music strips down completely, returning to just sparse piano and vocals] My radio is dead The river is frozen (C'est fini pour moi) [Final soft accordion sigh] [Fade out on a single, sustained low piano note with vinyl crackle] [Spoken Outro] [Radio static voice effect] This message will self-destruct in five seconds. [End]
