WEIRD LITTLE THEATRE [Spoken intro — dry, intimate, close-miked female vocal; almost conspiratorial] Come through the little door. No, smaller. You’ll fit. Probably. [Verse 1 — clipped melodic phrasing, restrained groove, propulsive bass beginning underneath] Someone’s wearing doll heads Someone’s sewn the night in lace Someone brought their heartbreak With glitter written on their face Safety pins and fishnets Tiny toys up in their hair Every colour glowing Nobody shrinking anywhere [Pre-Chorus — build gently; percussion and synth tension rising] Crone, femme fatale Little girl, little beast Pretty little monster Pull up a chair, take a seat [Chorus — widening chorus, deeper bass, bigger vocal layering] Welcome to the weird little theatre Come alive, come alive Too strange to fit, too bright to hide Come alive, come alive Small door, big world Bassline under skin Nobody came here tidy Let the creatures in [Post-Chorus — clipped hook, rhythmic repetition] Louder Weirder Brighter Louder Weirder Brighter Let the creatures in [Verse 2 — drop back slightly; dry immediate mix, bass stays present] Someone’s got a bra skirt And pages from a favourite book Someone’s crowned in nonsense Everybody’s got a look Something’s always breaking Duct tape holds up the divine If the whole thing falls to pieces Laugh and call it by design [Pre-Chorus — build again] Saint, little menace Bluebird, velvet knife You can be a thousand things And still call all of them your life [Chorus — wider, stronger, more physical] Welcome to the weird little theatre Come alive, come alive Too strange to fit, too bright to hide Come alive, come alive Small door, big world Bassline under skin Nobody came here tidy Let the creatures in [Bridge — abrupt dropout; almost no instrumentation at first, close-miked and tender] Someone held up heartbreak Written glitter-bright And for a minute all the monsters Held her in the light You don’t have to be pretty You don’t have to be brave Be an ugly little creature For as long as it takes [Quiet repetition — suspended, intimate] For as long as it takes [Build — bass re-enters, then drums; gathering momentum] Then give me the bass Give me the glitter Give me the ache And make it shimmer Give me the freaks Give me the noise Give me the room Where we all get a voice [Final Chorus — fullest widening chorus, layered harmonies, deep physical bass] Welcome to the weird little theatre Come alive, come alive Too strange to fit, too bright to hide Come alive, come alive Small door, big world Bassline under skin Nobody came here tidy Let the creatures in Welcome to the weird little theatre Make it loud, make it kind Make it strange enough to wake me Make it soft enough to cry No more rooms that merely tolerate us No more sanding down the shine I want places built to celebrate us Magnificently alive [Outro — instruments falling away; intimate again] Birdsong in the morning Dirty bass at night Safety-pin the costume We’re magnificently alive.
