[Intro | Low drone, harpsichord-like plucked figure, candle crackle] [Verse 1 | Female — young alt-pop voice, low and sultry] I came off the ship looking pale as the moon So the city decided I'd brought something up from the tomb Two months on the water with salt in my sleeves And a box full of linen and the things a girl believes They whispered at the landing, and they crossed themselves on cue Said that something came over with the girls — and it's true [Pre-Chorus | Male — 1A eerie processed falsetto, distant] (something came over, something came through) [Chorus | Female belt, stacked harmonies] I'm a casket girl, I'm a casket girl Brought a box full of linen to the edge of the world Let 'em nail up the shutters with the holy screws I got a secret in my casket — and it isn't for you [Verse 2 | Male — 1A warm low croon then falsetto] I watched you from the levee where the live oaks drip with gray You looked right through the governor and you looked the other way They say you sleep in daylight, and you're hungry while we sleep But the thing that I'm afraid of is the thing I want to keep (the thing I want to keep) [Verse 3 | Female] They lined us up for husbands like a bolt of Paris lace The nuns said take your time, the soldiers said pick a face But I learned something on the water when the wind refused to blow: The scariest thing in this whole city is a girl who can say no [Chorus] I'm a casket girl, I'm a casket girl Brought a box full of linen to the edge of the world Let 'em nail up the shutters with the holy screws I got a secret in my casket — and it isn't for you [Bridge | Duet, slow, whispered then rising] Is it hunger, is it fever, is it only that I'm free (only that I'm free) Let the candles in the convent keep their vigil over me Let 'em hang their garlic in the window, let 'em bolt the door And I didn't cross an ocean to be frightened anymore [Final Chorus | Female full belt, falsetto ghosts behind] I'm a casket girl, I'm a casket girl Brought a box full of linen to the edge of the world Let 'em nail up the shutters with the holy screws The only monster in my casket is a girl who gets to choose [Whispered | Female] And I choose you [Outro | Duet, hushed] Three hundred years and the shutters stay shut What's up in the attic? — Only us.
