[Intro]
Door swings wide
coffee in my hand
They freeze
then peel out, like a marching band
Chairs spin
paper rain in the air
I step through the silence
somebody’s scared
[Verse 1]
Badge on my belt
old coat, frayed sleeve
They were laughing, talking
now they all leave
Lab tech drops prints
won’t meet my gaze
Chief checks his watch
like he’s counting days
Camera guy yanks cords
says he “forgot a light”
Rookie bumps past me
eyes too wide
Crime tape flutters
like it wants to speak
Only thing that stays
is the blood on the teak
[Chorus]
Why they scatter when I show up on the scene? (on the scene)
Every squad car sliding out like a dream (like a dream)
If I’m the hunter
why they look so keen
to run from the detective
Scatter at the scene
Scatter at the scene
Scatter when they see me step in clean
If I’m the hero
why’s it feel obscene?
Everybody fades
I’m alone with what’s unseen
[Verse 2]
Body in the center
face half turned
Tag on the toe
right name, wrong burn
It’s me
Same watch, same scar on the chin
Same cracked knuckle
same dimple in the grin
Photo flash ghosts
on the back of my eyes
I’m chalked on the floor
wearing yesterday’s tie
Wallboard riddles
pinned with my case files
Every closed folder
stacked in cruel piles
[Pre-Chorus]
Air gets thick
like a held-back answer
Clock on the wall
ticks like a dancer
Step by step
I rewind what I’ve seen
Who’s the witness here
and who runs the machine?
[Chorus]
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
Maybe they ain’t scared of the blood
They’re scared of the mirror in my veins
Each crime scene twists like a funhouse frame
and my name’s in every frame
[low vocal register]
Every partner, every perp, each lead
circles back to my own deeds
If the culprit wears my face
would you stay or would you flee?
[Verse 3]
I touch the tag
static bites my skin
Hear my own voice whisper
“you let me in”
Case board letters
rearrange my past
All my “closed” files
spelled this out at last
I’m the question mark
they filed under “friend”
The glitch in the badge
that they can’t defend
So when I walk in
truth starts to scream
They run from the puzzle
‘cause the answer’s on my team
[Chorus]
[Chorus]