Carnival of Broken Cradles

[Intro]
[whispered male]
Step right in
tickets in teeth
rust on the rides
blood on the seats
[Female, sing-song]
Hush now, baby, don’t you cry (mm)
Mama found a place where the clowns don’t die
[Verse 1]
(Male rap)
Boot prints, mud on the trailer steps
Crow call echoes, silhouette on the safety net
Sheriff in the cornfield, face in the scarecrow’s chest
We been jugglin’ jawbones, call it carnival of death
Popcorn bucket full of bullet shells
Banjo by the bonfire pickin’ rebel spells
Horse on the carousel, head turned backwards
Ride if you like, go home in a black hearse
Ticket booth teeth, old man jaw clicks
Smile like a grave full of glow-stick kids
He said, “Son, you can win that prize”
I did—now my shadow got twelve glass eyes (hey!)
[Chorus]
(Female lullaby, layered)
Rock-a-bye baby, up in the noose
Wind starts howlin’, rope comes loose
Hush little angel, close those eyes
We tuck you in deep where the daylight dies
(Male under, chanting)
Round and around, ‘til the world fall off
Hay bale stained, that’s a country cross
Carnival lights turn red then black
Once you hear the call, you don’t come back
[Verse 2]
(Male rap)
Barn out back where the freaks say grace
Heads on the wall play keep-away face
Shotgun singin’ in a two-step sway
Click-clack, boom, that’s a big hooray
Got a ring toss game with severed ears
Win three in a row, you can taste your fears
Dust on my boots, blood in the tread
Every footprint spell out “you’re dead”
(Female, taunting sing-rap)
I pour sweet tea in your IV drip
Peach pie poison on your Sunday lips
We pray real loud when the sirens near
But the choir in the field only sings one fear
[Chorus]
(Female lullaby, more intense)
Rock-a-bye baby, up in the noose
Wind starts howlin’, rope comes loose
Hush little angel, close those eyes
We tuck you in deep where the daylight dies
(Male ad-libs)
Round and around (don’t stop now)
Down in the ground (lay face down)
Callin’ your name (soft, slow drawl)
But it ain’t your momma at all
[Bridge]
[distorted calliope, children giggling, distant gunshot, creaking rope]
(Female nursery voice)
One for the preacher, two for the grave
Three little sinners that I couldn’t save
Four rusty swings in a line out back
All start movin’ when the sky turns black (oh)
(Male, low)
Five fresh crosses at the county line
Six stray dogs diggin’ up the last of mine
Seven more miles ‘til the sirens fade
Eight pale hands from the window shade
[Outro]
(Female, hushed)
Lay your head where the cornrows bend
Count your sheep ‘til they count your end
(Male, fading)
Welcome to the show
where the prayers turn cold
You ain’t lost yet, boy
you been sold
[Female, almost a whisper]
Sleep, sleep, circus in your veins
When you wake up
you won’t know your name

rap, Hybrid horrorcore rap over dark psytrance pulse, switching between male and female vocals; verses ride double-time pockets with eerie circus organs, metal-on-metal percussion, occasional gun-cock and creak FX. Hooks drop into twisted lullaby and nursery-rhyme sing-song, music-box bells and detuned banjo plucks. Energy rises from whispered menace to full-throated screams, then collapses into a haunting, childlike outro, reverb-heavy and claustrophobic., nursery, country, dark psytrance, hardcore, freestyle, horrorcore