Lyrics

[INTRO — the heartbeat from Track 8. Slow. Steady. Then it becomes a kick drum. A single kick drum, huge, resonant, like a fist on a table. One string note, high, sustained, trembling. Silence between the hits. Titled1 breathes. In. Out. In. Out. The breathing becomes part of the rhythm.]
(spoken, quiet, intimate, close-mic, as if sitting across from you)
Hey.
Yeah. You.
The one still listenin'.
The one who made it to Track Nine.
The one who sat through the porch light and the funeral
And the Waffle House and the pew
And the card reader and the peach.
You.
Yeah, you.
I need to tell you somethin' before this ends.
Before the static comes.
Before the signal fades
And the satellite goes dark
And the porch light clicks off
And you're just… drivin' again.
Radio between stations.
Hands on the wheel.
Night comin' on.
I need to tell you somethin'
And I need you to HEAR it.
Not the polite version.
Not the mixed-down, mastered, radio-edit version.
The LOUD version.
The version with the cracks in it.
The version where my voice breaks
And I don't fix it in post.
(the kick drum doubles. A second string enters. A low cello note. The sound of something WAKING UP.)
You ready?
(breath)
I said, you READY?
(THE DRUMS HIT. Full kit. CRASH. The strings swell. The guitar rings open. The whole album's weight lands at once.)
[VERSE 1 — sung now, not spoken. The melody is simple, rising, yearning. The strings pulse underneath. The voice is clear, open, no armor, no character, no persona. Just Titled1.]
I built this whole record out of porches and parking lots,
Out of gold teeth and halos and a waitress named Dawn,
Out of a Cadillac I didn't need and a pew I didn't earn,
Out of a satellite holdin' my face in the cold dark
Like a mother holdin' a photograph
She can't replace.
And I laughed at the funeral
'Cause cryin' was a language I hadn't learned yet.
And I left my halo next to the ketchup
'Cause holiness was heavy
And I was tired of carryin' it for everybody else.
And I put my secrets in the plate
'Cause the plate was the only thing open
When every door was closed.
And I swiped my face at a thousand machines
And got the same red light
And said the same word:
(half-shouted)
NEXT!
And through all of it—
Through the strut and the grin and the funk and the swagger
And the talk-box and the 808 and the gold-tooth flash—
Through ALL of it,
There was one thing underneath.
One thread.
One small, stubborn, flickerin' thing
That I couldn't bury
No matter how loud I played the drums.
(the strings swell, the voice cracks just slightly)
And it was this:
Remember me.
Not the performance. Not the persona. Not the tracklist.
ME.
The face under the face.
The Tuesday mornin' face.
The 2 a.m. Waffle House face.
The cryin'-in-the-pew face.
The face I don't put on the album cover
'Cause it ain't got the right angles.
Remember THAT face.
[PRE-CHORUS — building, the drums getting heavier, the strings climbing, the guitar chords opening wider]
And I know you're gonna drive away from this.
I know the static's comin'.
I know the next song on your playlist
Ain't gonna sound like me.
I know the world's got a thousand louder voices
And a shorter memory
And a face-card machine
That don't give a damn about your story.
But I am NOT goin' gentle.
I am NOT fadin' polite.
I am NOT slippin' out the back
While you're lookin' at your phone.
I am standin' at the front of the church,
I am standin' on the porch,
I am standin' in the Waffle House parkin' lot at 4 a.m.
With the sky turnin' pink
And my halo on the table
And my gold tooth catchin' the light
And my face card HELD UP like a flag,
And I am SAYIN'—
[CHORUS — the FIRST chorus. Big but not yet biggest. The strings are full. The drums are crashing. The voice is BELTING. The melody is wide, open, anthemic. A hymn for the forgotten.]
SAY GOODBYE LOUDER!
Say it so the walls remember!
Say it so the porch light flickers!
Say it so the satellite turns around
And catches your face one more time!
SAY GOODBYE LOUDER!
Don't you dare go quiet!
Don't you dare go gentle!
Don't you DARE let 'em forget you
While you're still standin' in the room!
Say goodbye LOUDER!
(LOUDER!)
Say goodbye LOUDER!
Say goodbye LOUDER!
(LOUDER!)
Say goodbye LOUDER!
(LOUDER!)
[VERSE 2 — bigger now, more urgent. The references come faster, the callbacks to the album weaving in. The strings are surging. The guitar is crashing open chords.]
So here's my goodbye, loud as I can make it:
Thank you for the porch light.
For the ones who left it on
When I was three blocks away and losin' my nerve.
For the ones who set the plate
And filled the glass
And said, "You don't owe me an explanation, baby, just come in."
Thank you for the Cadillac apology
That didn't need the Cadillac.
Thank you for Nana, gold tooth and all,
Dancin' in the kitchen with a wooden spoon,
Tellin' me joy was a DUTY
And grief was just love
With nowhere to go.
Thank you for the satellite,
Holdin' Auburn Avenue in its cold little eye
And sayin', "I see you. I see you. I see you."
Thank you for Dawn,
Nineteen years and a name tag and a "hon, y