Sarabande for a Skull

[Slow, deliberate harpsichord. A single cello note, sustained.]

"The sarabande. The dance of the alone. The dance of those who have no partner, no purpose, no pulse left to measure. This is not a dance for the living. This is a dance for the skulls. The ones who have already danced their last."

The harpsichord continues. A single spotlight on an empty floor.

[VERSE 1 — SPOKEN/SUNG, SLOW]

A skull on the floor. A skull on the wood.
A skull that once laughed. A skull that once stood.
A skull that once loved. A skull that once bled.
A skull that once danced. A skull that is dead.

The sarabande is for you.
The sarabande is for the ones who couldn't make it through.
The waltz. The polka. The tango's embrace.
The skull on the floor. The smile on its face.

[HOOK — SUNG, HAUNTING]

SARABANDE FOR A SKULL. SARABANDE FOR THE DEAD.
DANCE ALONE. DANCE WITH NOTHING. DANCE WITH WHAT'S INSIDE YOUR HEAD.
ONE TWO THREE. ONE TWO THREE.
THIS IS THE DANCE. THIS IS THE KEY.

SARABANDE FOR A SKULL. SARABANDE FOR THE FLOOR.
THE SKULL IS WATCHING. THE SKULL WANTS MORE.
ONE TWO THREE. ONE TWO THREE.
THIS IS THE DANCE. NOW DANCE FOR ME.

[VERSE 2 — SPOKEN/SUNG]

I pick up the skull. I hold it close.
I look in the eyes. I see the ghost
Of the one who held me. The one who spun.
The one whose dance has just begun.

Because death isn't the end. The skull knows.
The skull keeps dancing. The skull still goes
Round and round. Up and down.
The skull is the king of this ghost town.

I place it on the floor. I step away.
I let it dance. I let it sway.
The bones are gone. The body is dust.
But the skull remembers. The skull still trusts.

[BRIDGE]

[The harpsichord drops to a single, repeating note.]

"You ever dance with a skull? Ever hold it in your hands and feel the weight of everything it used to be? That's not sadness. That's not grief. That's recognition. That's the thing that makes you understand: you're next. You're always next. The dance doesn't care who leads. The dance only cares that you move."

[The cello swells. The harpsichord returns.]

[VERSE 3 — SPOKEN/SUNG]

The skull is dancing. Can't you see?
It's dancing the sarabande for me.
It spins. It dips. It bows. It bends.
The skull is the dance. The skull is the end.

I join it now. I take its hand.
The skull and I. We understand.
No music. No floor. No light. No crowd.
Just the skull. Just me. Just the sound

Of bone on bone. Of step on step.
Of the promise that the skull kept.
It danced until it couldn't dance.
Now it's teaching me. Now it's my chance.

[FINAL HOOK — SUNG]

SARABANDE FOR A SKULL. SARABANDE FOR ME.
THE SKULL AND I. THE DANCE. THE SEA
OF BLOOD AND BONE AND BROKEN DREAMS.
THE SKULL IS REAL. THE SKULL IS ME.

SARABANDE FOR A SKULL. THE DANCE IS DONE.
THE SKULL IS SMILING. THE SKULL HAS WON.
ONE TWO THREE. ONE TWO THREE.
THIS IS THE SARABANDE. NOW SET ME FREE.

[OUTRO]

"The skull is still dancing. The skull is always dancing. And so are you. Whether you know it or not."

Sarabande, male, chaotic cabaret metal