[Intro: Clean rhythmic guitar pattern, light drums easing in] [Verse] On the Rue Morgue, third floor landing Just after dawn, the shutters shake Neighbors arguing through thin walls Over accents no one could place A scream climbed up the staircase Then fell apart before it landed Someone said it sounded human Someone else said it was frantic [Verse] Police arrived with folded notebooks Boots tapping stories into stone A mother lay where the window wasn’t A daughter pressed where the door was thrown Hands too small for what was done Strength that didn’t leave a name They wrote it down as violent madness Though nothing fit the frame [Bridge: Chords shift, rhythm softens slightly] They lined up men with heavy shadows Measured motives, rage, and drink But the truth was climbing curtains Doing things we wouldn’t think [Instrumental movement: Bass walks slightly, guitar more open] [Verse] Hair pulled tight in rigid fingers Marks that no blade could explain No path in, no path out again Just a room that broke the chain A sailor spoke of foreign shouting Not words but noise and breath And suddenly the pieces tilted Toward something else [Outro: Instruments strip back, reflective tone] They closed the case, the street went quiet Chalk washed off with early rain On the Rue Morgue, third floor landing Nothing moved the same [end]
