[Intro 8] (distorted voice, reversed piano, cymbal hi-hat kicks in, conversational tone, click, clap) [There must still be something of consciousness in the effort to decode a message—either in how we arrive at what is made of its meaning or it is all an illusion that simply just feels true—beyond this who could know?] [Verse 1 16] (talking, sparse instrumentation, melodic bass-note variations underneath)[Talking as if conversationally] — Only: part one take one [click] [talking] begin [singing melody | downcast vocals] Ah, I — I — I — I — I am neverknown. Experience writes my secret ghost — The one sitting closed like a book inside my shelf. You trace the twisted thirsty roots from all our faultlines — These thoughts still waters have never known... [Pre 4] (build, orchestral strings enter, tension rising) So the promises to myself that I've broken... Strange characters lie at my feet — These jagged failures Forget my lessons — Like a life inside a nest of swords. [Chorus 8] (stacked Wilson-esque harmonies, key change) The echo seen, that polished lie — An easy smile, Sincerest "Hi." The version in the light— A simple shape— A vein of color. Just a man. You can hear my echo man, echo man... You can hear my echo man, echo man... [Post 4] (echo repeats with delay, pause before final word) Echo Man echo man echo-oh... [pause] man. [Instrumental 16] (melodic driving rising arpeggios, 80s synth glamrock build, do not cut short, orchestral swells underneath) [Spoken 4] (talking, conversational, clap) — Else: Part two Take One [Clap] Ah, I — I keep a memory of shades, What else do I put on? A mask, a vest, a gun — Time to roll off... [Verse 2 16] (second verse, bass note variations, tight drum programming, tenor lead enters) Who knows the story, What was left behind, Or just the parts that I wrote down? The public vein. Director's cut. The words I wore. The worlds let go. I polish'd the stone until I dropped. A skin un-owned but for the fault lines. [Bridge 24] (Earth/thunder section, orchestral swells, oddball twists, sudden key changes, drums steady with fills throughout to tectonic pulse) The Earth breaks feelings through my bones. Thunder tunes the flood. No skies can rush. Oh these truths I can keep But the secrets I've broken — These characters let go. These characters echo. The Earth rings tectonic stones. Thunder moves the blood. All wise men rust. A stranger's face I wore that day— I am the only one who sees this moment. And what I know—a view no one owns. The Earth shakes feelings orphan'd without homes. Thunder echoes in drums. All brave men lose. Oh these lies I could keep But the promises I've broken — These characters let go. These characters echo. Thunder echoed from across the road— all strong men break. These characters echo. Echo. Echo-oh. These characters (characters, characters, characters [record skipping]) That stone I have learned to name... (a small weight to carry now.) By any cost that's truly known. By any charge that we could grow. [Chorus 8] (reprise, bigger harmony stack, unexpected oddball twist at bar 6, falsetto soars) That echo scene, unvarnished truth — Sincerest youth in the dearest lows, It all bounced back— The versions in the dark— A shape nobody knows— Bleeding colors. You can hear that echo man, echo of man... You can hear my echo man, echo of man... [Post 8] (record skip textures, characters echo, sirens begin in distance) Echo Man echo man echo-oh-oh oh.... Echo Man echo man echo-oh-oh oh [sirens in the distance, getting closer] [Outro 8] [sirens fade, element-by-element decay, reversed piano returns, tape saturation, fade]
