THE FACADE CRACKS

(Melancholy piano in F Minor plays a fragile melody. Sudden tape-stop effect. CD skip fragment) "S-s-sitting here".

(Heavy, bit-crushed static sweeps across the stereo field, then locks into a slow half-time pulse.)

Sitting here staring at the freezing past

How cold, how mad, how long did it last?

I’m so ashamed that I let you inside

Wore a smile on my face just to hide

(Vocal cuts out sharply into a 404-error beep)

But behind my back, the echo is clear

An evil laugh is all that I hear

I called you a friend, but the mask had to fall

Now there’s (Audio stutter) n-n-nothing... left at all

(The beat drops into a deep chillstep rhythm. High-pitched digital chirps and micro-glitches dance around the lush, warm synths.)

You chose the predator over the light

You lit the match in the middle of the night

When I was burning, you didn’t defend

You poured the gasoline right at the end

Just to feel big, you made me feel small

What kind of friend just stands through it all?

But the screen fades to black, the static will clear

And you disappear (Vocal pitches down into a sub-bass rumble)

(The tempo stays slow, but the percussion breaks into fast, clicking glitch-hops and vinyl crackle.)

He dragged my name down, and you fed him the lie

Watched the smoke rise up to the sky

You wanted to tear me down to your floor

But I don’t belong in your war anymore

Look at me now, I’m finding my crowd

The voices cheering are beautiful and loud

Are you jealous now of the love in the room?

While you sit alone in your (Beat stutters and reverses) m-o-o-l-g gloom

(Chillstep percussion drops out entirely. Spooky, beautiful ambient textures expand. Vocals sound like they are breaking through a failing digital signal.)

Aren’t friends supposed to lift you up high?

Celebrate the wins instead of asking why?

But you’re just a cynic playing a part

A hollow echo inside of a heart

(Buffer repeat effect) "heart-heart-heart-he-

"I’m walking away, I’m taking my peace

This is the moment I claim my release

(The melodic drop hits hard again, but glitchy stutter-gates slice through the main synth pads to add rhythmic energy.)

You chose the predator over the light

You lit the match in the middle of the night

When I was burning, you didn’t defend

You poured the gasoline right at the end

Just to feel big, you made me feel small

What kind of friend just stands through it all?

But the screen fades to black, the static will clear

And you disappear

(Drums die out. A beautiful, pure ambient melody drifts in F Minor, completely cleansing the track. The glitches slowly slow down like a machine powering off.)

Get out of my head

Into the dark

Stand alone in the corner of your chaos

I rise above this

I love myself better

Fade to black

(Final faint digital artifact)

Peace.

(Sound of a plug pulling out. Sudden silence.)