Here’s a more theatrical, sinister version with a big rock-opera chorus and a wicked cabaret pulse: **THE BONES BEGIN TO DANCE** *[Spoken—over a lonely piano]* Boy, take your hand off that rusted gate. That house isn’t empty. That house isn’t sleeping. That house is waiting. *[Verse I]* At the end of a road that the maps have forgotten, Stands a black little palace of velvet and rot. Every window is blind, every floorboard is plotting, And the bell rings at midnight—though the bell tower’s not. Then the candles awaken in poisonous splendor, And the ballroom remembers the shape of a crowd. The forgotten arrive in their graveyard finery, While the organ below them starts laughing out loud. *[Pre-Chorus]* One toll for the witches, Two tolls for the damned, Three—and the dead take each other’s hands! *[Chorus]* When the bones begin to dance, All the chandeliers ignite. Every secret leaves its grave And puts on black tonight. Hear the devil strike the measure, Hear the silver goblets ring— When the bones begin to dance, Even death begins to sing! *[Verse II]* There were goblins at the tables drinking shadows from the glasses, There were banshees in the balcony applauding every scream. Painted phantoms spun in circles with aristocratic madness, While the witches raised their skirts and kicked across the mezzanine. But behind a bolted wardrobe, underneath a veil of dust, Waited one who’d spent forever far too terrified to move. Till the door flew from its hinges and he stepped into the fire— With a grin upon his skull and nothing left to lose. *[Pre-Chorus]* He bowed to the witches, He winked at the damned, Then snapped his white fingers and called for the band! *[Chorus]* And the bones began to dance, While the chandeliers burned blue. He shook the sleeping rafters With a wicked step or two. Every witch collapsed in laughter, Every phantom formed a ring— When the bones began to dance, Even death began to sing! *[Bridge—The Skeleton and Ensemble]* **SKELETON:** I spent a lifetime hidden, With my name behind a door. Now I’ve nothing left to cover, Nothing left to answer for! **ENSEMBLE:** Rattle the lock! Splinter the frame! Drag every beautiful secret to flame! **SKELETON:** If shame is just a prison— Then tonight I’m breaking free! **ENSEMBLE:** Dance, you magnificent monstrosity! *[Final Chorus]* Let the bones begin to dance! Let the old house shake and sway! Let the things we bury deepest Rise magnificently strange. Strike the drums like rolling thunder, Make the tortured rafters ring— For when the bones begin to dance, Every ghost becomes a king! Let the dead demand an encore, Let the morning lose its chance— Once the skeleton steps from the darkness, The whole damned world must dance! *[Spoken—music stops]* So, boy… Are you coming in?
