(Intro - A swirling, carnival-esque organ riff plays (Vox Continental sound). The drums enter with a jazzy, driving ride-cymbal beat. The guitar slides in with a bluesy, reverb-heavy lick.) (Em) (D) (Em) (D) (Spoken, low, baritone voice, close to the mic): The city... is a cage of noise. I had to cut the wire. I had to find the ancient silence. Ride the snake... to the West. (Verse 1) (Em) I packed the car at the midnight hour (D) Leaving behind the concrete tower (Em) Trying to outrun the voices in the wall (D) Before the whole damn kingdom starts to fall. (Em) I hit the highway, chasing the sun (G) Thinking the battle was finally won (A) I drove until the road turned to dust (Em) Putting my faith in the desert trust. (Chorus - The organ gets louder and more percussive. The vocals become stronger, a melodic wail.) (G) I went to the desert to kill the sound (D) To bury the whispers underground (A) But I looked in the mirror, and what did I see? (C) The Shadow Man sitting right next to me! (B7) Yeah, they packed their bags and they followed me! (Verse 2) (Em) The cactus stands like a crucified man (D) Casting long shadows across the sand (Em) The lizard king is watching from a rock (D) Mocking the ticking of the mental clock. (Em) I screamed at the canyon, I screamed at the sky (G) "Leave me alone! Let the voices die!" (A) But the wind blew back with a familiar hiss (Em) Reminding me of the madness I miss. (Organ Solo - Ray Manzarek style. Fast, swirling, classical-influenced but manic runs over the Em - D chord progression. The energy builds.) (Em) (D) (Em) (D) (Guitar Solo - Robby Krieger style. Finger-picked, slightly flamenco-sounding, sliding into distorted blues licks.) (G) (D) (A) (Em) (Bridge - The music drops to just the bass guitar and a soft, eerie organ drone. Jim Morrison-style spoken word poetry section. The delivery starts calm and gets increasingly unhinged.) (Spoken) The desert is a mirror. There is nowhere to hide in the flatlands. The silence... is just a canvas for the noise. I thought I left them in the city. But they don't need a ticket to ride. They are in the blood. They are in the marrow. They are the ancient ones... And they are screaming... They are screaming... (Em) (Building in volume) THEY ARE SCREAMING MY NAME! (Chorus - Maximum Volume. Jim Morrison scream vocals. The band is thrashing.) (G) I went to the desert to kill the sound! (D) To bury the whispers underground! (A) But I looked in the mirror, and what did I see? (C) The Shadow Man sitting right next to me! (B7) THEY NEVER LEFT! THEY ARE PART OF ME! (Outro - Chaotic, high-energy blues jam. The singer is ad-libbing wild shouts and moans.) (Em) (D) Get out of my head! (Em) (D) Get out of my head! (Em) Yeah, the voices! (D) The desert voices! (Em) They’re loud! They’re loud! (A) YEAAAAAAHHHHH! (Em) (The song ends on a chaotic, swirling organ chord and a final, sharp drum crash.)
