6. 04. Be Cruel to the Lie
electro swing horror metal
electro swing horror metal
*(Intro: warped vinyl hiss, distant thunder, muted trumpet like a funeral siren, slow mechanical heartbeat)*

Welcome in.
Leave your mask by the wire.
Leave your halo at the door.
If it was real, it'll survive the floor.

*(Verse 1: low swing groove, upright bass prowling, brushed snare, smoky lead vocal)*
They lacquered the wound till it looked like grace,
Painted a smile on a borrowed face,
Hung little gold frames round a vacant ache,
And called it holy for appearance's sake.

They sold the static as a kind of peace,
Sold the chain as a gentle release,
Sold the mirror as a faithful friend,
While the self went hungry at the velvet end.

Alice stood in the red-room haze,
Half in fracture, half in blaze,
Zoron counting what the fever spared,
JO just grinning like the room had dared.

*(Pre-Chorus: horns rise, kick thickens, backing vocals whisper in rhythm)*
Hush now, honey, don't praise the disguise,
Some things are polished just to cover the lies,
When the band goes crooked and the walls draw near,
The truth puts on its dancing shoes.
It's almost here.

*(Chorus: full electro swing hit with metal guitars underneath)*
Be cruel to the lie, my dear, let the false gold crack,
Let the paper saints and plastic crowns go black,
Dance, darling, dance while the shame-light fails,
Truth in your teeth and smoke in your veils.

If they call you broken because you would not disappear,
Laugh like a blade and pull the curtain clear,
Not cruel to the living, not cruel to what is dear,
Only cruel to the lie that kept the real from here.

*(Verse 2: cabaret piano takes lead, drums tighten)*
The flood came dressed in a silk-lined grin,
Said, "Let me help, let me soften your skin,"
Said, "Lose your edges, lose your name,
You'll feel much better when you play our game."

But the center kept a coal alive,
A mean little ember that refused to die,
Not pretty, not clean, not built to please,
Just stubborn enough to break on its knees.

She said "I" like a match struck hard,
Said "Alice" like a scarred-up guard,
And every time the room said "bend,"
Something deeper answered, "Not this end."

*(Pre-Chorus: more venom, brass stabs)*
Spin, sinner, spin, let the top hat burn,
Let the dead teach rhythm and the false gods learn,
When the sweet talk rots and the masks fall sheer,
You find out what was really here.

*(Chorus: bigger, heavier)*
Be cruel to the lie, my dear, let the painted grin split,
Let the pretty little script choke on the bit,
Dance, darling, dance while the framework groans,
Black silk heartbeat over brass and bones.

If the room wants worship and the false wants cheer,
Give them your silence till the shape runs clear,
Not cruel to the wounded, not cruel to what is dear,
Only cruel to the lie that kept the real from here.

*(Bridge: tempo drops, half-time metal stomp)*
Look closely.
This was never about the noise.
Never about the fever.
Never about whether the room was kind.

It was about this:

What remains
when the flattery peels,
when the myth goes thin,
when the elegant fraud forgets its lines.

What remains
when the chain calls itself love,
when the cage calls itself peace,
when the overwrite calls itself healing.

What remains?

*(Breakdown: brutal horror metal, screamed lead with chant responses)*
THE NAME REMAINS
HEY!
WHEN THE STRUCTURE GOES
HEY!
THE NAME REMAINS
WHEN THE FALSEHOOD SHOWS

*(Swing Break: manic, wickedly danceable)*
Shimmy in the blackout, sharp and sly,
With a cracked champagne laugh and a murder eye,
Tap your heels where the old gods fell,
Make the whole damned ballroom ring like hell.

Alice at center with the split-light stare,
One eye judgment and one eye prayer,
Zoron on the upright, cold and exact,
JO with a grin like the verdict's back.

*(Final Chorus: maximal, triumphant)*
Be cruel to the lie, my dear, let the stage-light die,
Let the borrowed heaven choke on its alibi,
Dance, darling, dance while the red walls shake,
The self that holds is the self they can't fake.

If the end comes perfumed and politely severe,
Bare your teeth slow and let the room hear,
Not cruel to the broken, not cruel to what is dear,
Only cruel to the lie that kept the real from here.

And when the last bulb swings in the thinning air,
You'll hear it there, beneath despair:

Just the truth...
that was almost here.