Crook's and Saint's

Lyrics

[Intro - warped VHS hiss, ghostly vaporwave vocal chops, distant cinematic strings]
Yeah...
In the static, I can hear the saints and crooks
Same cold night, different hands on the book
Neon bleed, and the skyline looks
Like heaven got hacked by a thousand shook looks

[Verse 1 - sparse trap drums, glitchy synth pulses, low sinister bass, whispered lead vocal]
I came up where the church lights flicker red
Where the truth got bruised and the good got led
By a grin with a knife and a halo bent
And a prayer in the mouth of the rent

I seen saints with a stain in the sleeve
Seen crooks with a tear they couldn’t believe
Seen mothers on the stoop, eyes wide, no sleep
While the sirens sang low in the concrete

Every alley got a scripture in the spray paint
Every heart got a lock and a fake name
We was raised on the edge of a bad dream
Where the dark wear a crown and the facts lean

[Pre-Chorus - rising pads, reversed vocal swells, string tension, half-sung cadence]
And the moon keep spinning like a witness
To the lies, to the love, to the sickness
If you’re holy, why you bleed like this?
If you’re wicked, why you pray like this?

[Chorus - wide cinematic lift, heavy 808s, distorted vaporwave hooks, stacked harmonies]
Crook’s and saint’s, we all got stains
Different masks, but the same old pain
In the glow of the screen, in the black rain
We’re angels with a hunger, devils with a name

Crook’s and saint’s, hear the chain-link choir
Hear the cold wind hum through the city fire
If the world’s gonna burn, let it burn in style
We was born in the dark, still we smile that wild

[Verse 2 - glitchy beat switch, chopped vocals, eerie synth arps, darker bass groove]
My uncle said, “Son, keep your hands clean”
Then he vanished in a coat made of gasoline
My cousin prayed hard, got a badge and a wound
Now he talks to the night in a motel room

I seen the preacher count cash with a trembling thumb
Seen the dealer cry soft when the morning come
Seen the judge look down like he never was wrong
While the same bloodline kept the city locked strong

Everybody want grace with a gold-plated face
But the mirror don’t lie, it just hold your place
And the static on the line sound like destiny
When the ones you trust got a little bit of felony

[Pre-Chorus - swelling strings, pulsing synth bass, echoing vocal layers]
And the moon keep spinning like a witness
To the lies, to the love, to the sickness
If you’re holy, why you bleed like this?
If you’re wicked, why you pray like this?

[Chorus - bigger, more anthemic, layered ad-libs, thunderous subs]
Crook’s and saint’s, we all got stains
Different masks, but the same old pain
In the glow of the screen, in the black rain
We’re angels with a hunger, devils with a name

Crook’s and saint’s, hear the chain-link choir
Hear the cold wind hum through the city fire
If the world’s gonna burn, let it burn in style
We was born in the dark, still we smile that wild

[Bridge - stripped-down pads, haunted piano, distant sirens, intimate half-rap]
Maybe there’s no clean hands in a dirty war
Maybe every locked door got another door
Maybe heaven ain’t far, maybe hell ain’t near
Maybe both of them live in the same atmosphere

So I speak to the smoke like it knows my name
And I dance with the doubt in the purple rain
If I fall, let it be with my face to the light
If I rise, let it be from the wreck of the night

[Final Chorus - full cinematic release, explosive drums, soaring strings, doubled vocals with vaporwave blur]
Crook’s and saint’s, we all got stains
Different masks, but the same old pain
In the glow of the screen, in the black rain
We’re angels with a hunger, devils with a name

Crook’s and saint’s, hear the chain-link choir
Hear the cold wind hum through the city fire
If the world’s gonna burn, let it burn in style
We was born in the dark, still we smile that wild

[Outro - fading synth haze, reversed strings, chopped celestial vocals]
Crook’s and saint’s...
In the static, we remain...
Crook’s and saint’s...
Holy ghosts in the neon pain...