Lyrics

[Intro]
Annunaki...
The channel is open.
Kai’Thael.
I said...
the channel is open.
...
Just leave it running.

[Verse 1]
Rain quit an hour ago, the gutter still ticks
Blue square on the wall where the monitor sits
Got a cup with a shoreline, cold ring on the desk
And a verse called “final” with twelve versions left
I was thunder in the chamber, had the whole frame bent
Now the fan in the tower is the loudest event
Black cloak on the chair with the lining pulled loose
Gold thread caught a splinter coming out of the booth
Played the last eight bars till the words lost shape
Heard the breath I was hiding underneath every take
Pushed the bass up twice, tried to bury that sound
Then I muted the session...it was still hanging round
There’s a message on my phone asking when I’ll be through
Typed “soon,” watched it sit...I’ve been saying that too
Put my hand on the switch, let the room lose its blue
In the glass was a face I had work left to do

[Pre-Chorus]
I held the line
Till my hand went white
Called out once
To the empty night
Let the last word die
Let the wire lie still
Nothing answered back
And I’m sitting here still

[Chorus]
No reply...
Rainwater running down the wire
No reply...
Cold room after all that fire
I called into the dark
Till my voice went dry
Stayed to hear what followed...
No reply

[Verse 2]
Took the road past the last house, gravel in the tread
All the things I’d said with certainty came riding in my head
Parked below the ridgeline, killed the dash and the beams
Let my eyes adjust slowly to the ordinary scene
Fence wire, pale limestone, a bottle in the ditch
For a minute every movement made my tired vision twitch
Had a name for every flicker, had a meaning standing by
Had to catch myself reaching for an answer in the sky
What would make me change the story? What would make me cross it out?
Could I bring it to the chamber with the questions spoken loud?
I could hear my own recordings telling everybody “see”
Now the hardest thing to look at was the certainty in me
Stayed until the engine settled, little clicks beneath the hood
Nothing opened in the hillside where I’d thought an opening would
Turned the key with empty hands, took the long bend into town
Let the headlights find the pavement...kept them pointed at the ground

[Pre-Chorus]
I held the line
Till my hand went white
Called out once
To the empty night
Let the last word die
Let the wire lie still
Nothing answered back
And I’m sitting here still

[Chorus]
No reply...
Rainwater running down the wire
No reply...
Cold room after all that fire
I called into the dark
Till my voice went dry
Stayed to hear what followed...
No reply

[Bridge]
Sha’Ruun...I have ashes on my sleeve.
Enki...there’s a cup beside the sink.
Luméth’el...the window’s painted shut.
Enlil...both my feet are getting cold.
I know the names.
Tonight the names are all I’ve got.
I keep expecting something
In the space before the drop.
...
Leave it sit.

[Verse 3]
Morning found the same room, little dust along the sill
Same unpaid envelope, same cup I had to fill
Wrote “I don’t know” in the margin, left it there beside the rhyme
Had an urge to dress it up...let it stand a second time
Sent “I’m sorry I went quiet. Can I come by after ten?”
Put the phone down on the counter, didn’t check the sky again
Washed the cup, wiped the table, heard a truck out in the street
Someone headed into town while the fridge hummed underneath
Opened up the session, took the doubled vocals out
There was strain across the ending where I’d tried to force a shout
Kept the quieter performance, heard the chair beneath the take
Heard a person draw a breath before deciding what to say
Kai’Thael on the filename...cursor blinking at the end
For a while I watched it waiting, then I listened through again
Saved the work without a verdict, pulled the curtains to the side
Had somewhere I said I’d be...and it was getting close to time

[Final Chorus]
No reply...
Morning laying gold across the wire
No reply...
I can leave a little room beside the fire
I called into the dark
Till my voice went dry
There’s a day outside the doorway...
No reply
No reply...
I don’t have the words tonight
No reply...
I can let that last note die
Set the headphones on the table
Let the room receive the light
I’ll be back to hear it clearer...
No reply

[Outro]
Channel still open.
Nothing further to report.
...
I’m heading out.