Lyrics
The lake was black at half past twoThe shoreline lights were goneThen far beneath the waterlineA row of lamps came on
The old main street began to glowStill buried twenty feetOne yellow light, then six, then tenRan underneath our feet
No cable fed the drowned-out gridNo power reached that sideBut every lamp beneath the lakeWas burning warm and bright
Then from the camp behind our backsThe little box beganFive notes repeated through the darkAnd people turned as one
Streetlights below, burning brightCalling through the dead of nightStreetlights below, row by rowLeading where we should not go
Five small notes across the shoreEvery light reveals one moreThe town is waking under blackAnd something wants its people back
A woman walked beyond the ropeHer eyes fixed on the lakeShe said her brother lived down thereBefore the dam was made
Another man stepped through the mudAnd whispered someone’s nameThe music box kept turning slowThough no one touched the frame
I killed the sound and grabbed the boxThe crowd still heard the tuneNot from the camp, not from my handsIt came beneath the moon
The lights were never pointing outThey formed a road belowFrom every house toward one dark placeBeyond the streets we know
GET BACK FROM THE WATERDON’T FOLLOW THE LIGHTTHOSE AREN’T YOUR FAMILIESCALLING TONIGHT
KEEP THAT BOX TURNINGDON’T LET IT SLOWWHATEVER IS WAITINGSTAYS DOWN BELOW
Streetlights below, burning brightPulling every face toward nightStreetlights below, row by rowShowing us the way they go
Five small notes are holding fastBetween the living and the pastThe town is not the thing we fearIt keeps a deeper darkness here
At dawn the lights beneath us diedThe shoreline crowd withdrewBut underneath the final noteA sixth one sounded through
