[Intro: sparse campfire atmosphere, vinyl crackle, sampled acoustic piano loop] [Mood: lonely, dusty, half-dreaming] [Vocalist: Child's voice, dry Texan drawl, close mic] Campfire down to embers Hat low, boots still on Saddle for a pillow Under a sunset long gone [Verse 1: eerie western storytelling, muffled kick enters, dry snare on 2 and 4] [Mood: uneasy, nocturnal, supernatural] [Child's voice, dry Texan drawl, close mic] Cattle bedded down past the creek Moon hung low and the wind went weak Then the whole black sky gave way To a sound no storm could make Ground jumped hard like a struck drum skin Coffee cup danced off a wagon pin I sat up slow with my hand on lead And a prayer half formed in my head [Pre-Chorus: syncopated electric bass enters, alien light swelling] [Mood: fear, awe, frozen disbelief] [Child's voice, dry Texan drawl, close mic] Light came down till the prairie turned white Horse snapped loose and vanished from sight Something lowered where no star should be And my knees quit taking orders from me [Chorus: cinematic space-western drop, deep synth pads, alien landing hit] [Hook: memorable repeated vocal phrase] [Vocalist: cracked awe, slight comic panic] [Child's voice, dry Texan drawl, close mic] Chrome and copper split the sky Cattle bawled and the coyotes cried Something touched down fifty yards away Lord, I was not built for today [Verse 2: staccato sine-wave synth lead, piano loop thins into bright narrow tone] [Mood: uncanny, curious, terrified] [Child's voice, dry Texan drawl, close mic] The door hissed open with a furnace breath Blue steam crawled like a thing half-dead Something stepped down in a coat of glass Tall as a preacher, thin as grass Face kept moving where the light ran through Eyes too many, maybe one, maybe two It pointed a finger, long and thin, And spoke with a sound that grated my bones within [Spoken Interlude: concentrated alien-cowboy awkwardness, sparse drums, cello drone] [Mood: dry comedy, fear, misunderstanding] [ALIEN: metallic, robotic, monotonous, processed] “Primitive resident. Identify the supreme authority of this world.” [MIYA BABY: dry close mic, confused, still scared] “You mean Earl?” [ALIEN: metallic, robotic, monotonous, processed] “Is Earl the sovereign intelligence of this planet?” [MIYA BABY] “Well... he’s the foreman.” [ALIEN:] “Foreman. Define.” [MIYA BABY] “He tells us where to mend fence, when to move cattle, who’s late, who’s drunk, who left the gate open.” [ALIEN:] “This Earl commands your species?” [MIYA BABY] “No, sir. Mostly just seven hands, two dogs, and a mule with an attitude.” [small silence, steam hiss] [ALIEN:] “Take me to the one above Earl.” [MIYA BABY] “That’d be Mr. Harlan, but he’s in town till Thursday.” [ALIEN:] “The one above Harlan.” [MIYA BABY] “The Bank, I wrecken.” [ALIEN:] “The one above the bank.” [MIYA BABY] “Depends how far behind Harlan is.” [ALIEN: unsettled] “Your chain of command is economically conditional?” [MIYA BABY] “Mister, I don’t know what that means.” [ALIEN:] “We require your planetary leader.” [MIYA BABY: longer pause] “Well, you picked a poor pasture for that.” [ALIEN:] “Who speaks for your species?” [MIYA BABY] “I wreckon about 200 people might .” [ALIEN:] “Then by what mechanism does your civilization persist?” [MIYA BABY] “Spite, habit, coffee, weather... but I wreckon mostly spite." [ALIEN: disturbed] “Your species is administratively impossible.” [MIYA BABY] “Now you’re getting it.” [Final Chorus: bigger cinematic return, western drums, synth pads, cello counterline] [Vocalist: more resigned than panicked] Chrome and copper split the sky Cattle bawled and the coyotes cried Something backed up fifty yards away Lord, I was not built for today Chrome and copper burned the plain Horse came back without his rein I stood there dumb in the dust and clay Lord, I was not built for today No, I was not built for today [Outro: analog tape haze, wide stereo ambience, piano loop fading] [Mood: embarrassed, comic aftermath] It looked at me, or what I think was looking Turned back slow with its head near shaking Left like thunder through a torn-up cloud Didn’t wave, didn’t speak too loud [ALIEN: filtered formal deep bass, distant] “Rejecting contact. No intelligent lifeforms.” [Coda: sparse, fading, prairie wind, vinyl crackle returns] [Mood: prairie dark, cosmic joke, resigned wonder] Prairie dark and heaven wide Something quit the other side Still here with the cows and the dust and the rust Wondering how they ever trust A single one of us A single one of us [Final spoken tag: dry cowboy growl, half amused] Now shut up and ride. [end: piano crackle fades into prairie wind]
