THE HOUSE ABOVE THE MOTELv6

[Intro — immediate stop-start breakdown, distant knocking] [Three knocks] [Screamed vocals] COME UP STAIRS! [Abrupt silence] [Verse 1 — whispered vocals, low piano and uneasy strings] The vacancy sign keeps blinking red, Rain draws fingers on the glass. There’s a light above the office That goes out when people pass. A soft voice calls me from the landing; I hear a chair scrape overhead. The room is cold, the door is open— Someone’s standing by the bed. [Pre-Chorus — abrupt breakdown, extreme vocals] [Screamed vocals] DON’T GO UP! DON’T LOOK IN! SHE’S AWAKE— [Hard stop] LET HER IN! [Chorus — eerie clean vocals, rising strings] There’s a house above the motel Where the windows never sleep. Someone whispers through the floorboards, Someone counts the stairs beneath. I came here looking for a shelter; Now the door won’t let me leave. There’s a house above the motel— And it knows what I believe. [Breakdown — jagged, stop-start hits; stylized metallic slash and muted impact sounds] [Extreme vocals] KNOCK! [Silence] KNOCK! [Impact] WHO’S THERE? [Silence] NO ONE! [Verse 2 — close, tense vocals; rain and faint knocking] A portrait watches from the hallway, Its painted eyes turned to the wall. A voice behind the locked bathroom door Says she can hear me when I call. The water runs; the lights are shaking. A shadow flickers through the steam. I close my eyes to keep from seeing— The house keeps looking back at me. [Pre-Chorus — breakdown, extreme vocals] [Screamed vocals] DON’T SAY HER NAME! DON’T TURN AROUND! SHE’S IN THE ROOM— [Hard stop] SHE’S IN THE SOUND! [Chorus — larger, layered vocals] There’s a house above the motel Where the windows never sleep. Someone whispers through the floorboards, Someone counts the stairs beneath. I came here looking for a shelter; Now the door won’t let me leave. There’s a house above the motel— And it knows what I believe. [Breakdown — abrupt, dissonant strings and percussion] [Extreme vocals] ONE STEP! TWO STEPS! [Silence] SOMEBODY’S BEHIND ME! [Sharp orchestral hit] DON’T LOOK BACK! [Bridge — quiet piano, distant voice-like strings] The rain keeps tapping out a warning. The phone keeps ringing in the dark. I hear a mother call her child— I hear the child answer in my heart. No road, no light, no room to hide. Just one last turn, one open door. [Final Pre-Chorus — breakdown, extreme vocals] [Screamed vocals] DON’T GO UP! DON’T LOOK IN! [Silence] SHE’S BEEN HERE ALL ALONG! [Final Chorus — full intensity] There’s a house above the motel Where the windows never sleep. Someone whispers through the floorboards, Someone counts the stairs beneath. I came here looking for a shelter; Now the door won’t let me leave. There’s a house above the motel— And it knows what I believe. [Final Breakdown — choppy hits, knocks, then sudden silence] [Three knocks] [Extreme vocals] LET ME OUT! [Impact; abrupt stop] [Whisper] You’re already home. [Outro — rain fades; one quiet knock]