[Intro] (Heavy 808 drop, atmospheric synth drone, distant crow caw, vinyl crackle) (Stuttering vocal sample: phantom king… phantom king… crown of smoke…) (Ad-lib: I'm not here to haunt you. I'm here to rule.) [Verse 1] I crawled out of the tomb with the dirt still on my name They thought I was a ghost, but I'm the one who lit the flame The grave was just a doorway, the dark was just a womb Now I'm walking through the city like a king without a tomb They see the shadow moving, they feel the temperature drop But they don't know the half of what I've carried to the top Every scar is a crown jewel, every wound is a throne And I'm the only monarch who can rule this place alone [Pre-Chorus] They whisper when I pass, they say the dead don't wear a crown But I was never dead—I was just underground Why am I so powerful? Why do I make them freeze? Because I stopped fighting the darkness and I let it bring me peace [Chorus] I'm the Phantom King, the ruler of the night Every ghost in the city knows my name and knows my light I didn't come to haunt you, I came to take the throne And I'll wear this crown of smoke until the stars are overthrown Phantom King, Phantom King, I'm the one they can't ignore Every shadow in the alley is a soldier in my war I'm not a villain, not a savior, I'm the space between the two I'm the Phantom King, and the darkness knows my truth [Verse 2] They offered me a kingdom, but I built my own instead Out of broken promises and the voices in my head I carved a path through the graveyard with my bare hands and my will And the ghosts all fell in line when they saw I couldn't be killed I don't need a crown of gold, I don't need a throne of stone I've got a crown of smoke and fire that I earned on my own Every time they tried to bury me, they just planted a seed And now I'm standing in the garden as the king of the deceased [Pre-Chorus] They whisper when I pass, they say the dead don't wear a crown But I was never dead—I was just underground Why am I so powerful? Why do I make them freeze? Because I stopped fighting the darkness and I let it bring me peace [Chorus] I'm the Phantom King, the ruler of the night Every ghost in the city knows my name and knows my light I didn't come to haunt you, I came to take the throne And I'll wear this crown of smoke until the stars are overthrown Phantom King, Phantom King, I'm the one they can't ignore Every shadow in the alley is a soldier in my war I'm not a villain, not a savior, I'm the space between the two I'm the Phantom King, and the darkness knows my truth [Bridge] (Stripped back, piano and distant choir-like pads, delivery intimate and raw) They ask me how I did it, how I turned the dark to gold I tell 'em, "I stopped running from the things I couldn't hold I let the ghosts all in, I let the shadows take their place And I found the throne was always sitting in the empty space" Now I wear the night like a robe, I wear the moon like a ring And every heart I've ever broken taught me how to sing So if you see me standing there with the smoke around my brow Know that I'm not lost—I'm exactly where I'm meant to be now [Final Chorus] (Full energy, gang vocals on "Phantom King," guitars and synths colliding) I'm the Phantom King, the ruler of the night Every ghost in the city knows my name and knows my light I didn't come to haunt you, I came to take the throne And I'll wear this crown of smoke until the stars are overthrown Phantom King, Phantom King, I'm the one they can't ignore Every shadow in the alley is a soldier in my war I'm not a villain, not a savior, I'm the space between the two I'm the Phantom King, and the darkness knows my truth [Outro] (Distant crow caw, stuttering vocal sample: phantom king… crown of smoke…) (One final 808 hit, then silence)
