Sugar on the Blade

They

love me most When I don’t move When I hold the pose

And hide the truth

{exposed piano, one audible breath,

distant room tone, close lead vocal} Another room,

another light

Another version dressed in white

They say my name like something sweet

Then take another piece of me

I learned to smile beneath the weight

To make exhaustion look like grace

Every blessing raised the stakes Every open hand began to take {intimate

verse, sparse piano and sub-bass,

breathy double on selected words} Tell me I’m lucky

Tell me I’m safe

While something silver Hangs over the stage {slow build,

strings begin to

rise, smooth vocal slides} There’s sugar on the blade

Sweetness on the pain

Everybody wants a taste Until there’s nothing left to take

There’s sugar on the blade

Love written on the chains It all tastes sweet against my tongue

Until I feel what it’s become So sweet So sweet There’s sugar

on the blade {unforgettable hook,

layered harmonies, chopped vocal fragments repeating “So sweet”} They know the shape,

they know the sound They know the face I carry out

But if the lights went cold tonight Would anybody know me without

the shine? I hear the cheering through the walls It sounds like

warning when it falls The higher every moment climbs The less of

me I recognize {second verse,

live drum ghosts, warped background vocals} Tell me I’m chosen

Tell me I’m brave

While something silent

Waits over the stage {rising pre-chorus,

bowed strings, tightening drums} There’s sugar on the blade

Sweetness on the pain

Everybody wants a taste Until there’s nothing left to take

There’s sugar on the blade

Love written on the chains It all tastes sweet against my tongue

Until I feel what it’s become

So sweet So sweet There’s sugar on the blade {second hook,

fuller drums, soft choir haze,

distorted guitar tucked low} If I disappear when the room goes dark

Will you look for me beyond the art?

If my voice gives out,

if the image breaks Will you love what the performance takes?

I don’t need another hand reaching in I need somewhere the noise

can’t get But silence feels like losing everything

So I walk beneath the weight again {bridge breakdown,

exposed confession, then swelling strings and guitars} There’s sugar on the blade

Sweetness on the pain

Everybody wants a taste But no one wants to share the weight

There’s sugar on the blade A promise I can’t escape It all

tastes sweet against my tongue Until I see what I’ve become

So sweet So sweet

There’s sugar on the blade {final cinematic chorus,

full layered harmonies, live drums,

strings, distorted guitars} The lights went out The cheering stopped

Then something underneath my heartbeat

Knocked

And whispered— Open {applause disappears,

piano left alone, inner voice enters,

lead-in to Part 2}