Sleeping Ceiling

[Intro — warped accordion, industrial ambience, distant laughter; heartbeat becomes dark-house kick] Shhh... Don't wake the ceiling... It's hungry... it's horny... That motherfucker knows me... Actually— WAKE THE FUCKER UP! [Frantic polka riff] [Verse 1 — melodic] Flowers growing out the TV... Blue roses made of light... They say if I crawl inside... I won't have to sleep tonight... Woman dancing on the moon... Barefoot, wedding gown... She keeps waving at me... So I wave back... From the ground... [Music cuts] Wait. That's not the moon. It's the kitchen light... One dim bulb hangin' by a string. And that's not a woman. It's a fat fuckin' roach... Jesus Christ. I'm tired. [Rap — crooked hip-hop beat] Three in the morning, head full of static, Brain doing backflips, automatic acrobatics, King in the mirror yelling, "BOY, YOU'RE DIVINE!" Then the bastard starts laughing— 'Cause the mirror ain't mine. Tick-tock, somebody swallowed the second hand, God's in the hallway skinnin' some fish... Using their blood to dip his bread... One-two-three-four— GET THE FUCK OUT MY HEAD! Five-six-seven— Wait... What was I saying? Ten thousand thoughts in a six-dollar skull, Half screaming GO! Other half saying NULL. I'm the emperor! I'm the prophet! I'm a beautiful machine! ... I'm a grown-ass man... Eating cereal out of the sink. [Pre-Chorus — euphoric] Sometimes I swear I feel it... Something enormous... Something beautiful... Waiting behind the walls... If I could just... Break... Through... [Chorus — huge melodic industrial techno] I COULD BE ANYTHING! Tear the stars down And hang 'em from my ceiling! I could outrun morning! I could resurrect feeling! Build a little heaven Where nothing ever dies! Where everybody loves me... And nobody... Ever... LIES! [Metalcore Breakdown] THEN THE SUN COMES UP! AND THERE I FUCKING AM! NO KINGDOM! NO ANGELS! NO GREAT COSMIC PLAN! MOLDY DISHES! UNPAID BILLS! TWO BLOODSHOT EYES! ANOTHER GODDAMN DAY TO FAIL! I'M SURPRISED I'M STILL ALIIIIIVE! REALITY! [chug-chug] HAS! [chug-chug] NO! [chug] FUCKING! [chug-chug-chug] IMAGINATION! [Silence] I liked it better... When I was king. [Verse 2 — drunken polka] There's a parade in the bathroom... Everybody dressed in red... Paper crowns... Wooden swords... Little versions of me... Without their heads... One says, "You're gonna make it." One says, "You already did." One says, "You ruined everything." ... That one's probably me. He's kind of a dick. [Rap — accelerating] Left brain, right brain, fistfight, cage match, Good thought, bad thought, gasoline, match, Future looking gorgeous! Past looking dead! (Or is it the other way around?) Present sitting quietly With a gun to my— [Beat glitches] NOPE. Different metaphor. Rewind. Present sitting quietly Eating all my fucking time. Better. See? I'm improving. Doctor says sleep. Boss says work. Heart says love. Brain says— EVERYBODY GET ON THE FUCKING FLOOR! [Accordion solo] Why is there an accordion?! Who hired this guy?! ... Keep playing. I like him. Then he's gone... He was a coat rack... All along. [Metalcore / Techno Collision] HERE WE FUCKING GO AGAIN! THE WALLS BREATHE IN! THE FLOOR DROPS OUT! MY HEART KNOWS SOMETHING MY HEAD WON'T TALK ABOUT! I'M EUPHORIC! I'M TERRIFIED! I'M GOD! I'M NOTHING! I'M READY TO LIVE! I'M SICK OF EXISTING! ROUND AND ROUND! THE NEIGHBOR SCREAMS! REALITY'S TEARING APART AT THE MOTHERFUCKIN' SEAMS! [Final Chorus — melodic vocal against screams] And I could be anything... Couldn't I? I could still become someone... Couldn't I? There could still be something beautiful... Under the blood, piss, shit And all this fuckin' grime... Madness isn't thunder... It's ten thousand voices... Trying to become... ONE! MINE! THEIRS! EVERYONE!!! [Backing scream] TELL ME WHICH ONE I'M SUPPOSED TO FUCKING BELIEVE! [Outro — soft accordion, room ambience] Morning again. TV's off. Roach is dead... In the kitchen sink. No parade. No angels. No kingdom. Just me... Barefoot... On the cold floor... [Soft laugh] Hahaha... But for a minute there... I had wings. [Accordion slows and dies] ... Shhh. The ceiling's sleeping... [End]