[Intro — close vocal, smoky piano, room noise] I came in halfway through the movie. Everybody knew the plot. They handed me a nervous system. Said, “Good luck with what we got.” [Verse 1 — restrained, bass slowly entering] Somebody gave me volume. Somebody taught me doubt. Television taught me wanting. School taught me to tune it out. Bad advice in good handwriting. Old rules in a newer font. Everybody left a fingerprint. Now Give them what you got. [Pre-Chorus — drums tighten, guitars creep in] I can taste it in the water. I can hear it in the drums. Every decade leaves a residue And calls the next one dumb. [Chorus — huge melodic pop-punk release, heavy low end] I’m under the influences. I swear I only had one. Then the whole room started spinning To a song from ’91. Everybody passed it down. Nobody wrote the dose. Now we’re dancing with the symptoms Of the things we never chose. I’m under, under, under— All the influences. [Verse 2 — sudden fast rhythmic vocal, bass-forward] Give me three chords and a bad idea. A kick that cracks the floor. A pretty little piano. Then make it something more. Let the bassline get suspicious. Let the synthesizer bend. Let me talk too fast for four bars, Then get quiet again. I learned softness from a stranger. I learned anger from a song. I learned every sound can save you When the whole damn world feels wrong. [Pre-Chorus — half-time, darker] We inherit little rituals. The posture and the pose. How to laugh when something hurts us. How to hide what everybody knows. [Chorus] I’m under the influences. I swear I only had one. Then the whole room started spinning To a song from ’91. Everybody passed it down. Nobody wrote the dose. Now we’re dancing with the symptoms Of the things we never chose. I’m under, under, under— All the influences. [Breakdown — guitars turn vicious, vocal nearly shouted] NO MANUAL. NO CLEAN SLATE. OLD FIRES. NEWER NAMES. I DIDN’T START IT. I STILL BREATHE IT. I DIDN’T CHOOSE IT. ... I REPEAT IT. [Bridge — everything collapses into strange psychedelic synths and piano] nothing starts with us. nothing ever did. We’re just echoes with opinions Trying not to sound like them. I can’t choose the residue. Can’t undo what made it in. But I can choose what happens When it passes through me next. [Beat enters — quick rhythmic switch] So give me every bad example. Every beautiful mistake. Every record that rewired me. Every rule I had to break. Every voice inside my headphones. Every voice inside my head. I don’t know which ones are mine yet. ... Maybe mine is how they blend. [Final Chorus — everything collides; punk drums, heavy guitars, synth chaos, piano still audible underneath] I’m under the influences. Yeah, probably more than one. Got the whole room fucking spinning And I’m nowhere near done. Everybody passed it down. Nobody wrote the dose. But I get to pick the rhythm Of the things I never chose. I’m under, under, under— Still becoming something new. All the influences— And look what I made them do. [Outro — everything cuts except piano] Everybody left a fingerprint. Nobody left a map.
