[Intro – Whispered Liturgy, Distant, Warped by pitch and delay.]: “Welcome to the Cathedral…”

Welcome to the cathedral…

Confess with your hips.

Worship in red eyes.

And light your candles with matches you should never trust.

[Verse 1 –Electroclash drums, Dirty synth bass crawling]:

[Lo-fi vocals, almost spoken]:

Lips like novocaine, kiss like gasoline

Pulled me into the fire, said “burn with me”

Woke up in stilettos and someone else’s dream

Mirror cracked....couldn’t find me underneath

Bathroom stall gospel, prayers in a sniff

I swore this time I'd finally feel it

But ecstasy don’t last past the lift

And I’ve been lifting off for a minute...

[Pre-Chorus – Tension winds tighter.]:

[vocals lift slightly]:

“This is the night I disappear…”

Lights flicker, truth gets thin

The choir’s drunk and they let me in

I take communion from a stranger’s grin

Sayin’ “tonight’s the night we finally win…”

[Chorus – Euphoria with fractures.]:

[Vocals belted, but almost hollow]:

“Burn it down, my burnout cathedral!”

Burn it down, my burnout cathedral

Neon sins and stained-glass people

I built this altar out of empty sequins

Screamed “hallelujah!” ‘til the meaning weakened

I dance like I'm dying for a second chance

But the beat just loops and the high won't land

Every sin's a psalm, every night’s a needle

So burn it down, my burnout cathedral…

[Verse 2 – Sparser now. The crash is creeping.]:

[Vocals get whispery, paranoid.]:

Ashtray heart, but my heels still glow

Every soul I meet just watches the show

Said I’d call it quits after just one more

But the truth always lives on the 13th floor

Shadow in the photo, smile in the blur

I made love to a ghost and called her “her”

Saturday night’s got blood in the glitter

And all my hallelujahs taste bitter

[Bridge – it unravels.]:

[Vocals chant in layered harmonies.]:

This ain’t love.

This ain’t freedom.

This is worship at the edge of the void.

This is what the saints forgot to warn you about.

I saw myself from the outside in

A blur in the crowd with a cracked porcelain grin

And I whispered my name like it was a sin

Just to see if it would echo back again

[Final Chorus – Slower tempo. Dreamier, but more desperate.]:

[repeated with increasing distortion]: “Burn it down…”

[Vocals, pleading]:

Burn it down, my burnout cathedral

Sing me hollow, make me fetal

I bled glitter and I called it faith

But it just stuck to all my shame

I dance like I’m falling through glass again

The beat don't care and the night don’t end

Every prayer’s a pill, every hope's deceitful

So burn it down... my burnout cathedral...

[Outro – The beat stutters. Synths die one by one.]:

I wanted fire.

I got smoke.

I wanted love.

I got the echo.

…Hallelujah...

...hallelujah...

...amen.

Click.