SECOND LAST CIGARETTE
(Iconic drum and bass fused pounding 808 basslines, intimate male-female narrative vocals in a Phonograph cylinder echoes)
(INTRO — tape hiss, rain outside, soaked in drums)
There was a moment
It passed
They try to relive it
We all try
To some degree
[PAUSE — 2 bars, rain and low room tone]
[VERSE 1 — beat enters soft, brushed snare, Rhodes minor chords]
It was raining
A slight constant drizzle
Sharp wind at the corner
Of another nowhere night
Knuckles turning white
Ears gone dark red
I stood outside
And lit my second last cigarette
[BREAK — drums filter down, cigarette inhale/exhale texture]
There was a moment
It passed
[VERSE 2 — darker bass enters, vocal lower]
They hold onto you
They are drowning
In their struggle
They grasp onto you
And pull you down
Pull you down
Pull you down
With them
If you are fortunate
You can distract them
Or they will distract themselves
Long enough
For you to get away
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK — 8 bars]
Dusty drum loop
Rhodes chord decay
Sub bass sliding downward
Rain louder than the room
One distant reversed vocal swell
[VERSE 3 — more intimate, almost diary reading]
There could be more
Than there is right now
Definitions defined clearly
At least for some
All intentions understood
If not all reasons
Things will change soon
Set date not discussed
Well once
In passing
What is there in common
Beyond being comfortable?
Is anything else needed
If intelligent and driven?
Until then
Is observation enough?
You’ve seen this situation
Created by yourself before
Or was it?
[BREAK — sudden drum dropout, one chord held too long]
Or was it?
[HOOK / REFRAIN — simple, repeated, half-sung]
And every day
Is just another
Will this story
Ever end?
Can you hear me calling?
Can you hear me calling?
That will never be again
That will never be again
[VERSE 4 / RETURN — sparse, rain and bass only]
There was a moment
It passed
They try to relive it
We all try
To some degree
I stood outside
In the sharp wind
And lit my second last cigarette
[FINAL HOOK — fuller drums, but still restrained]
And every day
Is just another
Will this story
Ever end?
Can you hear me calling?
Can you hear me calling?
That will never be again
That will never be again
[OUTRO — beat dissolves, rain remains]
They hold onto you
They are drowning
Long enough
For you to get away
[FINAL SPOKEN LINE]
There was a moment
It passed
ASDFd