[Verse 1]
(A slow, steady bassline—thump, thump, thump)
I built you a cathedral out of matchsticks and bone
I gave you a crown, then I left you alone.
I watched from the rafters, I breathed in the damp
While you tried to find light from a flickerless lamp.
You called me a savior; I whispered a lie
I was just teaching you how to say "goodbye."
[Pre-Chorus]
(The "ticking" gets faster; violins begin to screech)
The ink on the contract is starting to bleed
I sowed the garden, but I planted the weed.
And the walls…
The walls are beginning to lean.
[Chorus]
(Crashing drums—chaotic and loud)
Burn it down! Let the velvet turn black!
There’s a knife in the door and a weight on your back!
I’m the architect of every bridge that you burn
I’m the lesson you never quite managed to learn!
Call it a tragedy, call it a crime
But I’m the one holding the hands of the time!
[Verse 2]
(The music stays heavy, driving forward)
Don’t look for the exit, I boarded the door
I’ve seen this performance a thousand times before.
You’re crying for mercy, you’re clawing the floor
But honey, the "mercy" don't live here no more.
I didn't break you to see if you’d heal
I broke you to see if the engine was real.
[Bridge]
(Everything drops out except a distorted electric guitar)
Is it cold? (Is it cold?)
In the house that I made?
Are you scared? (Are you scared?)
Of the debt to be paid?
(Vocal builds to a scream)
I AM THE DEBT!
[Chorus]
(Maximum volume—pure adrenaline)
Burn it down! Let the velvet turn black!
There’s a knife in the door and a weight on your back!
I’m the architect of every bridge that you burn
I’m the lesson you never quite managed to learn!
Call it a tragedy, call it a crime
But I’m the one holding the hands of the time!
[Outro]
(The bassline returns to the slow, steady thump)
The smoke is a curtain.
The fire is the play.
I’ll see you tomorrow…
When you’ve faded away.
(Sound of a single match being struck, then silence)