[Intro] [instrumental: sound of a metallic beam settling, then a heavy, dragging trip-hop beat with deep sub-bass pulse] [Verse 1] [vocals: baritonal, confessional, close-miked] [instrumental: sparse trip-hop beat, clean delayed guitar arpeggio with heavy reverb] Three glass vials on the granite cold One for the story that's never been told A tincture of envy, a dose of the fire They call it the venom I call it desire [Pre-Chorus] [vocals: a low growl, building in intensity] [instrumental: analog synth pads swell] They whisper of ruin, of ends and of flaws But I hear a commandment under the applause [Chorus] [vocals: commanding, layered into a distorted gospel choir] [instrumental: heavy, syncopated drum machine, prominent sub-bass, mournful bowed cello] Oh, the beautiful greed in the sharpest of light The pleasure you find in the thick of the fight I pour them together in the crucible's heat To make an elixir (A taste of the poison, a taste of the sweet) [Verse 2] [vocals: sultry, intimate] [instrumental: beat pulls back, cello melody becomes more prominent] The first is the body, a fever they spurn A lesson the pious can never unlearn The next is the ascent, the need for the peak A strength of the spirit They branded as weak [Pre-Chorus] [vocals: a low growl, building in intensity] [instrumental: analog synth pads swell] They tell you it's broken, a terrible stain But I feel the foundation of a brand new reign [Chorus] [vocals: more powerful, commanding, layered] [instrumental: heavy, syncopated drum machine, prominent sub-bass, mournful bowed cello] Oh, the beautiful greed in the sharpest of light The pleasure you find in the thick of the fight I pour them together in the crucible's heat To make an elixir (A taste of the poison, a taste of the sweet) [Bridge] [instrumental: all percussion drops out, only deep synth pads and tape hiss] [vocals: starts as a strained whisper, cracks, then swells with defiant clarity] Did they call this sickness? This pull from the ground? Where the highest ambitions are finally unbound? They measured their virtue by all they refused And built their cathedrals to stay unamused [Chorus] [vocals: triumphant, soaring, heavily saturated] [instrumental: drums re-enter heavier, distorted synth lead, layered backing vocals] It's a beautiful greed in a glorious light! The pleasure I find in the thick of the fight! I drink it all down from the crucible's heat! My golden elixir! (The bitter is sweet!) [Outro] [instrumental: deconstructed beat, sub-bass pulse, fading cello plucks] [vocals: repeating, processed with heavy delay] (The bitter is sweet) (The bitter is sweet) [sound of metallic scraping and hiss fades to silence]
