Got a strange little story I need you to hear About this guy in my head who scares me beyond all common sense He finds me after my thoughts finally start slowing themselves down All scorched in my memory, grinning close behind my own eyes Same tilted cap, same sweater, every single visit coming back Doesn't matter where I wander, somehow he follows me anyway Gone when I wake, then he's waiting when my thoughts go soft Tell me how this stranger keeps walking through my street I remember coming back with my head still somewhere else We'd been moving around so long everything felt slightly unreal So everybody figured we should disappear into some cheap cinema Bring whoever was around and make a whole thing of it I had one friend, another brought somebody Someone else brought a girl nobody really knew very well Didn't matter much because everybody seemed easy enough So we wandered inside acting bigger than ourselves Laughing, talking, barely paying attention Then some strange little horror film started filling up the screen At first it felt harmless, almost too ordinary to remember Some burned-looking man kept chasing people through their sleeping thoughts When it finished I laughed and said, “That was actually good” Everything stayed normal while we walked away from there Then I finally shut my eyes and let myself disappear That's when that movie found another road through my head Something in my thoughts felt feverish and strangely close I woke covered in sweat thinking, man, what is happening Everything around me looked stretched beyond what made any sense Even my own memory felt soft around the edges somehow I tried clearing my head, tried thinking about anything else Then some low ugly voice appeared somewhere behind my thoughts It said, “You watched me once, now I remember you” Man, I didn't stay around to figure out what that meant I ran outside barely dressed and kept moving without thinking Made it far enough before I finally stopped and started laughing Then I thought, wait, okay, none of this can actually happen So I walked back feeling clever about the whole situation I figured if my head made this, I could change it Walked back in acting fearless, almost enjoying myself Then that burned-up guy appeared and ended that idea quickly He grabbed my collar and said “Listen, you and me could make this whole thing interesting You bring me your friends and I'll handle what comes after You've got their trust, I've got everything they don't understand” I said, “Listen, man, I think you're reading me completely backward I'm not joining anybody who looks this committed to being strange Seriously, this partnership already sounds terrible before we begin And people aren't exactly going to relax around that face” I touched his shoulder, said, “Anyway, nice meeting you” Then turned away thinking that should probably settle everything He moved once and something cut straight across my shirt I laughed, then stopped because somehow I actually felt it That changed everything because suddenly nothing felt imaginary anymore I said, “Okay, friend, maybe we've misunderstood each other badly” Didn't finish the thought before I started running again Back through my own head, every idea crashing into another I shut everything out and tried thinking of absolutely nothing Just kept thinking, please let somebody make this stop He came closer and tore straight through whatever I imagined Almost reached me, then suddenly I snapped awake Everything vanished and my thoughts became ordinary again I laughed like, “See, I knew none of that mattered” Then I noticed three fresh cuts across what I'd been wearing And understood something had followed me back to my street Wait, I need my friend, I need my friend Come on, come on Come on, answer me Come on, man “Yeah?” “Listen, it's me” “What is it?” “Wake up” “I'm awake” “No, seriously, listen” “What are you talking about?” “Whatever happens, don't let yourself fall asleep” “Man...” “Listen to me, just stay awake, okay?” “You're acting strange again. We'll talk after I rest.” “No, don't—” “RAHH!” “Hey!” “Answer me!” “Ha, ha, ha, ha...” “Hey!” “RAHH!” “Say something!” “Looks like your friend knows me now.” “No...” “Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha...”
