[Intro — Spoken over sparse piano] In the interdimensional realm of record keeping, It’s imperative that every human be ready for sleeping, But not the kind that’s earned from a hard day of weeping— No. I’m talking the permanent kind. Because I’m the guy that does the reaping. [Beat Drops] I’m the end of the story, The last page of the book, The last face that you see Before you meet the Maker who gave me the task I undertook. I don’t write it, I cite it, I’m supplied with a name, With a place, with a time, And a cause for the same. I don’t choose who is losing, I don’t choose who survives, I just close out the ledger At the end of your lives. So the scythe is mostly branding, And the cloak? Presentation. You’d be shocked how much of Death Is expectation management. [Verse — Faster] Every soul gets a number, Every number gets a date, Every date gets a moment, Every moment meets its fate. Could be murder or blunder, Could be lightning or flame, Could be peacefully sleeping— Makes no difference to the name. I have stood beside the mighty As they whimpered at the sight. I have stood beside the meek Who simply smiled and said, “All right.” I’ve seen cowards become heroes, I’ve seen heroes lose their nerve, You learn quite a bit of people When they get what all deserve. [Beat Pulls Back] My task is to make the time That was decided one to remember, Whether blazing in July Or freezing cold in December. An inspiration, if you consider, For good or for ill, A beacon to all of the people Not currently lying still. [Music Shifts] But this is a story of the human That I respected most, An oddity that gave me pause Before he gave up the ghost. I’ve collected kings and killers, Saints and sinners by the score, And in all my years of endings I had never wanted more. More time. For him. [Spoken] Not me. That would be absurd. [Beat] I am a professional. [Beat Builds] So gather round, I’ll tell his tale, His triumph and his strife, And perhaps along the way I’ll make a point about his life. No, not the scythe. I heard it too. Just let me have the line. I’ve been doing this forever. You try filling all that time. [Final Build] So open up the ledger! Let the record now be read! We’ll begin before the dying, So forget about the dead. For to understand the ending, We must see what came before— This is not the tale of how he died. It’s what he lived for.
