No Wrong Notes, Just Uncomfortable Truths

[Intro = one beautiful piano chord] [Woman, politely] Good evening. I'd like to play you a perfectly respectable song. [Second piano chord - out of tune] [Pause] Well.....uh.....that wasn't it. [distant Offstage voice] TRY AGAIN! [Woman] Oh, for fuck's sake. [Drums crash] [Verse 1 - crooked cabaret, playful venom] They said to find my center, So I looked beneath the floor. Found a dozen different women And a child behind a door. One was crying, one was laughing, One was sharpening her tongue. One was making herbal tea While another loaded up the drums! One said, "Darling, be forgiving!" One said, "NO, I'VE HAD ENOUGH!" One said, "Could we please be civilized?" One said, "PASS THE FUCKING STUFF!" [Music stops] [Woman] Which one of you Is supposed to be me? [All voices at once] YES! ME! [Verse 2 - fast, furious rhythmic rap] I'm too loud, too proud, Too emotional, too strange, Too much history, too much mystery, Too unwilling to behave. Too forgiving, too suspicious, Too deliciously malicious, Too ambitious, too exhausted, Too damn tired of your wishes. You want authentic? But not alarming! You want honest? But still charming! You want the truth In tiny portions, Pre-approved And free of distortion! Want my story, Want it neat, Want my trauma Off the cheese! [Offstage dinner guest] EXCUSE ME! THIS IS A DINNER PARTY! [Woman] THEN WHY'S EVERYBODY EATING LIES?! [Instrumental - saxophone starts laughing] [Chorus - explosive, crooked funk] NO WRONG NOTES! JUST UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTHS! You can tune the damn piano, But you can't retune my roots! NO WRONG NOTES! LET THE DISSONANCE COME THROUGH! You don't have to like the music For the music to be true! Play it crooked! Play it strange! Let the rhythm rearrange! If the harmony is broken, Maybe something needs to change! [Instrumental - detuned piano and distorted bass argue] [Interlude - robotic government computer voice] Attention. Your emotional expression has been flagged for review. Please select one approved emotional state. [Electronic beep] Happiness. [Beep] Gratitude. [Beep] Quiet resilience. [Woman] What about rage? [Robotic voice] INVALID SELECTION. [Woman] Grief? [Robotic voice] PLEASE TRY AGAIN. [Woman] Joy AND grief? [Robotic voice] SYSTEM ERROR. [Woman] HAHAHAHAHAHA! [Drums explode] [Verse 3 - fierce spoken rap] Dear Dad, I was three. Tell me how that's on me. Dear world, I was twelve. Tell me where I put myself. Dear sister, take a chair. There's enough of room in there. Dear stranger, keep your judgment. I already paid my fare. Dear mirror, show the cracks. Dear memory, bring it back. Dear tomorrow, make no promises. Dear yesterday, unpack. Dear little girl behind the door, You don't have to hide anymore. [Music suddenly softens] And if you don't want to come downstairs... [Pause] I'll sit here on the floor. [Verse 4 - almost beautiful waltz] Some days I am a garden, Some days I am the storm. Some days I am the stranger Who can't remember being warm. Some days I need forgiveness, Some days I need a fight. Some days I need the darkness So I can recognize the light. I am not a finished painting. I am not a settled score. I am not the sum of people Who refused to love me more. [Waltz begins to fall apart] [Voice] That's a little dramatic. [Woman] IT'S AN ALBUM CALLED DISTURBED, BUT STILL HUMAN! WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?! [Entire band crashes back in] [Bridge - escalating chaos, different voices interrupting each other] [Voice 1] You're too angry! [Voice 2] You're too kind! [Voice 3] You're too damaged! [Voice 4] NEVER MIND! [Voice 5] You're too complicated! [Voice 6] You're too much! [Woman] THEN DON'T TOUCH! [Silence] [Small voice] Are we in trouble? [Woman, gently] No, sweetheart. We're making music. [One beautiful piano chord] [Instrumental - music box plays alongside piano] [Final Chorus - every musical style collides all at once] NO WRONG NOTES! JUST UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTHS! Let the frightened child sing! Let the furious woman loose! NO WRONG NOTES! LET THE BROKEN RHYTHMS MOVE! Nobody needs permission Just to tell the fucking truth! Let the jazz get tangled! Let the drumbeat fall apart! Let the cello scrape the ceiling! Let the bassline shake the heart! Let the laughter interrupt us! Let the tears come crashing through! We're disturbed! We're contradictory! WE'RE STILL HUMAN TOO! [Extended instrumental - joyous, chaotic, dissonant, wildly rhythmic] [Outro - music begins falling apart] [Woman, catching her breath] Well... That was a mess. [Someone laughs in background] [Another crowd voice] hey, You missed a note. [Woman] Which one? [Voice] The right one! [Woman] Oh, honey... [She plays the wrong chord again] THAT WAS THE RIGHT ONE. [Music stops] [child voice] Can we play it again? [Woman laughs] Absolutely. [One piano chord]