[THE WHISTLER’S CURSE] [INTRO — BOOT STOMPS, LOW DRUMS, WHISTLE CUT DEAD] Keep your damn tune behind your teeth The wind has graves beneath the reef Loose one note where black tides rise It comes back breathing through your eyes [VERSE 1 — LOW, RESTRAINED] The trade wind worked the canvas wide Black water combed the starboard side One sailor sent a clear note high The topsails emptied from the sky No cloud had moved, no current changed Still every rope fell loose and strange The lantern flame leaned toward the foam As though that note had called it home [PRE-CHORUS — SOULFUL HARMONIES RISING] Old hands went pale but held their tongues That law was older than their lungs The sea returns what leaves the bone But never in the owner’s tone [CHORUS — DARK CARIBBEAN SWAY] Whistle once—the canvas dies Whistle twice—the needle lies Whistle three beneath black skies Someone answers wearing your eyes [VERSE 2 — DEEPER, MORE URGENT] The second slipped before first light The compass spun from left to right North crawled beneath the captain’s hand While depth marks claimed they stood on land The sunrise burned on either beam Black reefs appeared where none had been Their wake ran straight beneath the bow The ship was chasing itself now [PRE-CHORUS — DROWNED CHOIR ENTERS] The chart ink gathered into rings Around the names of sunken things Each bearing bent toward one black place That wore no number, depth, or face [CHORUS — HEAVIER BASS SURGE] Whistle once—the canvas dies Whistle twice—the needle lies Whistle three beneath black skies Someone answers wearing your eyes [BRIDGE — INSTRUMENTS THIN TO HEARTBEAT AND ACCORDION] At dusk they bound his jaw with line Still came the third note, clear and fine It left no mouth and stirred no air Yet every drowned man whistled there His chest drew breath against his will The sea blew through him, sweet and shrill Two living eyes went cold and wide While something listened from inside [VERSE 3 — HARD PERCUSSION, AGGRESSIVE DELIVERY] By midnight he stood at the wheel No pulse to count, no wound to seal They chained both wrists and locked the spoke The iron links drew tight—and broke The rudder turned against the strain The bow drove headlong into rain Their given names blew from his chest Each sailor heard his—and knew the rest [FINAL CHORUS — FULL DROWNED-SOUL CHOIR] Whistle once—the canvas dies Whistle twice—the needle lies Whistle three beneath black skies Someone answers wearing your eyes [OUTRO — LONE WHISTLE, THEN SILENCE] Guard every song behind your breath Some melodies belong to death The note you loose above the wreck Comes back rehearsed inside your chest
