Count Me Home

Lyrics

[Intro: music box, vinyl crackle, a whispered “...one, two...”]

Verse 1: male, low, almost spoken
Three a.m., the hallway’s breathing
Shadows setting the table for four
Mum’s in the kitchen, but she’s been gone since winter
And Danny’s knocking on the bathroom door

I counted the stairs, there’s one too many
The mirror blinked before I did
Everybody’s here, but nobody’s with me
Tell me what it means when the dead start to live

Pre-drop: male, rising, distorted
They’re saying my name in the walls
Saying my name in the walls
Is it them, or is it me?
Falling...

[Chorus: CHILD VOICE, sing-song, over music box]
Come and play, come and play
Everyone is here today
Count to ten and don’t look back
Mummy’s turned the light to black
Come and play, come and play
You can’t send us all away

[Drop: 16 bars, wobble bass, glitching child-vocal chops]

Verse 2: male, harder, gritty
Danny’s got my jacket on, the one we buried him in
Grandad’s in the armchair, laughing at the static
I’ve been talking to the TV for three days straight
Doctors say it’s nothing, but nothing’s got a face

I threw the dirt myself, I watched them lower you down
So why’s the ground still moving underneath my bed?
Tell me I’m not mad (mad, mad, mad)
Tell me I’m not mad
Tell me that you see them standing there

[Pre-drop 2: male, screaming into the build, pitch rising]
They’re saying my name in the walls
Saying my name in the walls
I can’t tell them from me
Falling...

[Chorus: CHILD VOICE, now a little faster, a little wrong]
Come and play, come and play
Everyone is here today
Count to ten and don’t look back
Daddy’s dancing in the black
Come and play, come and play
You can’t send us all away

[Drop 2: heavier, with a screech lead and the child laughing under the bass]

[Bridge: everything cuts out, just the child, close and dry]
“We saved you a seat...”
“You don’t have to be scared...”
“Ready or not.”

[Final Chorus: child voice and male voice layered, distorted, the music box falling out of tune]
Come and play, come and play
Everyone is here to stay
Count to ten, I’m not turning round
Hear them laughing, underground
Come and play, come and play
I’m not sending you away...

[Outro: music box slows and detunes, a door creaks, the child counts “...nine... ten...” then silence]