[Intro]
[instrumental − slow drum build
Chugging palm mutes]
[guitars swell into harmonized lead line]
[gallop kicks in
Divebomb into first verse]
[Verse 1]
Fluorescent buzz
Concrete sweat
Scratchy state-issue pen
And a lifetime of regret
Steel bed frame
Razor grin
“Dear devoted stranger”
Let the confessions begin
[Chorus]
Handwritten notes from killing hands
Souvenirs from a ruined man
You read the stains
You trace the scars
Autographs from your private star
Handwritten notes from killing hands
You frame the sickness
Call it a brand
I bleed my gospel in red and black
You lick the envelope
And you write me back
[Verse 2]
You send your pics
In your favorite shirt
Say you love my “darkness”
And my mask of dirt
You quote each line
Like it’s holy writ
But every name in my margins
Is a grave I dug to fit
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
[half-time
Drums pounding]
Paper cuts on guilty thumbs
Every letter
Someone’s lungs
Last cold breath
Pressed in ink
How close to death
Do you wanna drink?
[low vocal register]
You want the monster
But not the screams
You want the story
Not what it means
[Pre-Chorus]
[cell doors slam
Gang shouts]
Read it out loud
Let it crawl in your skin
Every “XOX”
Is a rusted pin
[Chorus]
[guitar solo]
[extended dual-guitar battle
Tremolo-picked runs
Harmonized bends
Drum fills]
[Chorus]
[Outro]
[jagged riff
Vocals over the last hits]
Last letter sent
Last fan sworn
These pages rot
Where the flesh was torn
Handwritten notes
From killing hands
Fade to dust
With the final band[staccato full-band hit]