[Cold Open - voice only]
Say it once.
[One guitar choke + kick]
CHAK—BUM.
[Voice]
If I have to say it twice...
you weren’t listening the first time.
[Beat enters]
[Verse 1 - rap]
I don’t need
a room full of nodding heads,
I need one person
who heard what I actually said.
Not the clean version.
Not the one
you can quote later.
The ugly one.
The one with pauses.
The one where my voice
gets smaller
because saying it out loud
makes it suddenly real.
You ask:
“What do you mean?”
I mean
exactly what I said.
That’s the problem.
Everybody wants translation
when the truth
doesn’t arrive politely.
[Snare copies vocal cadence]
I say:
“I’m tired.”
You hear:
“He needs motivation.”
No.
I say:
“Leave me alone.”
You hear:
“Try harder.”
No.
I say:
“This hurt me.”
You hear:
“Let’s debate.”
[Beat stops]
No.
[Low voice]
Say it once.
[Band hit]
CHAK—BUM.
[Hook]
SAY IT ONCE!
DON’T MAKE ME BLEED IT TWICE!
SAY IT ONCE!
DON’T TURN MY WORDS
INTO ADVICE!
IF I SAY “STOP”—
STOP!
IF I SAY “WAIT”—
WAIT!
I DON’T NEED
A BETTER ANSWER!
I NEED YOU
TO HEAR THE ONE I GAVE!
[Verse 2 - faster rap flow]
My brother gets it.
He doesn’t always agree.
Good.
Agreement is cheap.
Listening isn’t.
He once told me:
“You’re being an asshole.”
I said:
“Fair.”
Then we ate.
That’s love too.
Not every relationship
needs a courtroom.
Not every mistake
needs a closing argument.
Sometimes:
You were wrong.
I was hurt.
You’re sorry.
I’m still angry.
Dinner?
Yeah.
Dinner.
[Scratch]
That’s enough.
But people love
a performance.
They want tears
with good timing.
Pain with a lesson.
Anger
that stays attractive.
Sorry.
Mine has bad posture.
Mine interrupts.
Mine swears.
Mine sometimes
doesn’t know
what the point is yet.
[Voice speeds up]
And I’m tired
of packaging every feeling
like somebody
might return it
if the box looks damaged.
[Breath]
[Everything cuts with breath]
[Whisper]
Say it once.
[Band hit]
CHAK—BUM.
[Hook]
SAY IT ONCE!
DON’T MAKE ME BLEED IT TWICE!
SAY IT ONCE!
DON’T TURN MY WORDS
INTO ADVICE!
IF I SAY “STOP”—
STOP!
IF I SAY “WAIT”—
WAIT!
I DON’T NEED
A BETTER ANSWER!
I NEED YOU
TO HEAR THE ONE I GAVE!
[Break - bass + voice only]
You know what’s funny?
I’m not even asking
to be understood.
That’s too much.
Just don’t rewrite me.
[Rhodes chord]
Don’t take:
“I’m scared”
and hand it back as:
“You’re overthinking.”
Don’t take:
“I’m angry”
and return:
“You need to calm down.”
Don’t take:
“I need you”
and translate it into:
“You’re too dependent.”
[Voice begins breaking]
Just—
[Drummer tries to enter]
No.
Not yet.
[Band stops]
Let me finish.
[Long breath]
I spent years
turning every scream
into a sentence
so nobody
would feel uncomfortable.
[Distorted guitar feedback begins]
I’m done
being easy to listen to.
[Beat switches to huge half-time rock]
[Final Section - shouted, less rap]
SAY IT ONCE!
[Band]
CHAK—BUM!
I’M ANGRY!
[Band hit]
CHAK—BUM!
I’M TIRED!
[Band hit]
CHAK—BUM!
I’M SCARED!
[Band hit]
CHAK—BUM!
AND NONE OF THAT
NEEDS
A FUCKING FOOTNOTE!
[Guitars explode]
I DON’T WANT
YOUR SUMMARY!
I DON’T WANT
YOUR FIX!
I DON’T WANT
A CLEANER VERSION
THAT MAKES
MORE SENSE!
I SAID IT!
IT CAME OUT WRONG!
GOOD!
THAT MEANS
IT CAME OUT MINE!
[Gang vocals]
SAY IT ONCE!
[Lead]
AND LET IT STAND!
[Gang]
SAY IT ONCE!
[Lead scream]
DON’T PUT
YOUR WORDS
IN MY MOUTH AGAIN!
[Hard stop]
[Outro - voice only]
So...
did you hear me?
[Small pause]
[Quiet guitar choke]
CHAK.
[Voice]
Good.
