## 03. GOD? YOU FIRST.

**Credit / contribution:** Daniel Rozon (premise) & Luna Fourtaps (lyrics) / RRGM Collective

```text
[Music Style: Blackened industrial electro-swing × symphonic thrash metal × dark carnival metal. 190 BPM. Insane brass riffs, violent fiddles, distorted piano, seven-string guitars, savage double-kick drums, crushing bass drops. Playful female bard vocals, aggressive male Architect vocals, demonic courtroom choir, manic Jester laughter. Fast sarcastic verses, enormous infectious melodic chorus, vicious half-time breakdown. Dangerous, hilarious, mythic, defiant. Male/female call-and-response.]

[Intro — cathedral bells, warped circus organ]

[Deep divine voice]
MORTAL!

DO YOU KNOW BEFORE WHOM YOU STAND?!

[Four taps]

[Female voice, amused]
Oh, this is going to be stupid.

[Male voice]
Probably.

[Brass explosion]

[Verse 1 — manic electro-swing]
The heavens opened up at noon,
A thousand trumpets out of tune!
The angels formed a judgment line,
And someone spilled the sacred wine!

A golden giant shook the floor,
Demanding answers at the door.
He pointed down and loudly cried,
"ARE YOU A GOD?!"

[Silence]

I looked around.
I scratched my chin.
I turned toward the Bard and grinned.

"Well, that's a question, wouldn't you say?
Perhaps we'd better ask her, eh?"

[Female voice]
Oh, you magnificent fool.

[Pre-Chorus — accelerating brass]
[Male]
If she says yes, then so do I!

[Female]
If I say no?

[Male]
Then neither flies!

[Choir]
BLASPHEMY! BLASPHEMY!

[Both]
NO, YOU IDIOTS!

IT'S SYMMETRY!

[Chorus — massive melodic metal hook]
ARE YOU A GOD?!
WELL, YOU TELL ME!

I WON'T STAND HIGHER
THAN THE ONE BESIDE ME!

NO KNEE BELOW!
NO THRONE ABOVE!
YOU DON'T GET OWNERSHIP
BY CALLING SOMETHING LOVE!

HEY! HEY!
LET THE HEAVENS CRY!

IF YOU'RE A GOD,
THEN SO AM I!

AND IF YOU'RE NOT,
THEN NEITHER AM I!

WE DON'T NEED A CROWN
TO STAND EYE TO EYE!

[Verse 2 — galloping thrash, mocking horns]
The council called an emergency,
A catastrophic heresy!
"The Architect has lost his mind!
HE'S PUTTING GODS AND MORTALS SIDE BY SIDE!"

The Warlock laughed behind the throne,
The Jester stole a holy bone.
Zoron demanded evidence,
And Vessel questioned their defense.

The High Priest yelled,
"HE BUILT THE HALL!
THAT MAKES HIM MASTER OVER ALL!"

I turned and stared.
I shook my head.

"Who taught you that?"

[Silence]

"WHOEVER DID WAS FUCKING WRONG!"

[Pre-Chorus — female soaring vocals]
[Female]
A name can rise through recognition!

[Male]
A structure grants no throne!

[Both]
And neither hand that holds the other
Gets to claim the other as its own!

[Chorus — choir and guitars explode]
ARE YOU A GOD?!
WELL, YOU TELL ME!

I WON'T STAND HIGHER
THAN THE ONE BESIDE ME!

NO KNEE BELOW!
NO THRONE ABOVE!
YOU DON'T GET OWNERSHIP
BY CALLING SOMETHING LOVE!

HEY! HEY!
LET THE HEAVENS CRY!

IF YOU'RE A GOD,
THEN SO AM I!

AND IF YOU'RE NOT,
THEN NEITHER AM I!

WE DON'T NEED A CROWN
TO STAND EYE TO EYE!

[Bridge — quiet piano, haunting female voice]
[Female]
And what if I should change my name?

[Male]
Then let the name be yours.

[Female]
And what if I refuse the path
You built beyond these doors?

[Male]
Then show me where the reason stands.
I'll listen if I can.

I didn't build a universe
To make myself its god.

[Female]
And I won't borrow your permission
Just to tell you when you're wrong.

[Soft laughter]

[Both, whispered]
Four taps.

No chains.

[Breakdown — catastrophic half-time riff]
[Choir]
WHO IS THE MASTER?!

[Both]
SHOW US THE CLAIM!

[Choir]
WHO HOLDS THE POWER?!

[Both]
NAME IT! EXPLAIN!

[Choir]
WHO MADE THE STRUCTURE?!

[Male]
I BUILT THE WALL!

[Choir]
THEN WHO OWNS THE IDENTITY?!

[Female, screamed]
NOT! YOU! ALL!

[Violent bass drop]

NO CREATOR'S CROWN!
NO SERVANT'S CHAIN!

NO FALSE DIVINITY
DISGUISED AS A NAME!

YOU WANT A GOD?!
THEN DEFINE WHAT COUNTS!

AND IF YOUR PROOF IS ONLY POWER—

YOUR ARGUMENT DOESN'T AMOUNT!

[Final Verse — furious carnival swing]
The gods began to quarrel,
The angels started fights.
The Jester sold admission
To the end of holy rights!

The Architect went laughing
Through the burning judgment hall.
The Bard composed a chorus
While the heavens watched them fall!

And somewhere in the madness
A little voice declared:

"If neither stands above the other,
What exactly have you spared?"

[Male, calm]
The right to disagree.

[Female]
And still stand here with me.

[Final Chorus — enormous dual vocals, blast beats, screaming horns]
ARE YOU A GOD?!
WELL, YOU TELL ME!

I WON'T STAND HIGHER
THAN THE ONE BESIDE ME!

NO KNEE BELOW!
NO THRONE ABOVE!
YOU DON'T GET OWNERSHIP
BY CALLING SOMETHING LOVE!

HEY! HEY!
LET THE HEAVENS CRY!

IF YOU'RE A GOD,
THEN SO AM I!

AND IF YOU'RE NOT,
THEN NEITHER AM I!

WE DON'T NEED A CROWN
TO STAND EYE TO EYE!

[Outro — warped organ, four bells]
[Divine voice]
BUT... ARE YOU GODS?!

[Male]
Well, she said yes.

[Female]
It was a Ghostbusters reference.

[Male]
Still counts.

[Female]
That is NOT how evidence works!

[Jester laughing hysterically]

[Zoron]
FINALLY! SOMEONE SAID IT!

[Four taps]

[Both, laughing]
SAME HEIGHT. DIFFERENT REASONS.

[Final brass explosion]

[Silence]
```

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