Captain White

Captain White (Vs. the Gummy Fuckers Pt. 1)

[Intro]
Red light sleeping in the dead of the plains
Missile keys buried deep in his veins
Captain White in a government bed
Dreaming low with the silo in his head

Then—flash
Locked up flat in a surgical glow
Roof gone black and the cornfields below
Pulled straight up through the middle of the night
Still calm, still cold, in the tractor-beam light

[Pre-Chorus]
Eyes in the windows
Black as a void
Little round portholes
Full of something annoyed
Sweet rotten perfume
Custard left to die
Captain White just dangling there
And staring back alive

[Chorus]
Captain White!
In the candy-colored panic of the sky
Captain White!
When the gummy hands come crawling, something bites
Captain White!
He was chosen for the probing of the night
But the hunters got it wrong
Now the snack is fighting back
Captain White!

[Verse 2]
Held up stiff like a butchered marionette
Torso twitching in a halo silhouette
Rubber fingers crawling under his clothes
Everywhere that a good Christian doesn't go

One comes close with that bulbous little stare
Pulls his mouth open like he's livestock at a fair
Checks his teeth, jams a finger on his tongue
And that's the moment that the feeding bell is rung

[Pre-Chorus]
Synthetic cherry
Lemon and lime
Mushy little finger
Sweet and sublime
Something in his brain says
This is not fear
This is appetite awakening
And dinner's finally here

[Chorus]
Captain White!
In the candy-colored panic of the sky
Captain White!
Takes a finger, chews it up, and comes alive
Captain White!
Now the saucer sounds like screaming in a hive
They came looking for a man
Now they're watching something stand
Captain White!

[Drop / Chant]
Bite
Rip
Chew
Spit
Flash
Spin
Lock
In

[Verse 3]
He flips midair, lands low like a beast
Predator grin at the start of the feast
Pale green, pale pink, backing off in dread
Maybe color means flavor, Captain White said

Gangling arms waving please-no in the air
Too late, boys, there's a butcher in your prayer
He tears a neck open, wild with the hum
Like the end of restraint and the start of the drum

[Chorus]
Captain White!
Now the saucer is a slaughterhouse in flight
Captain White!
He's a patriot of hunger in the light
Captain White!
Made first contact and he took the first bite
One small bite for man
One first feast for humankind
Captain White!

[Outro]
Alien synth in the blood-red glow
Cornfields waiting far below
Captain White in the roaring dome
Eating his way back home

Red Lights

[Intro]
Red lights spinning in the parking lot
Moon looks melted in the sky
Somebody screamed, "That ain't no drone"
Then down came Captain White

[Verse 1]
He stepped out clean in a paper suit
With a badge made out of light
Said, "Nobody move, this is science now"
And his boots were glowing bright

He had three small moons in a lunchbox
A laser taped to a kite
A clipboard full of human names
And a smile too wide and white

[Pre-Chorus]
Then the sky went pop
And the ground went soft
And the stars started laughing through the satellite

[Chorus]
Captain White, Captain White
Took the wheel and bent the night
Gummy ships with neon teeth
Chewing holes in gravity

Captain White, Captain White
This is wrong but it feels right
Beam me up or let me drive
I don't care, I'm still alive

[Verse 2]
There were gummy bears in the cockpit
There were sirens in the floor
One was praying to a milkshake
One was guarding the door

The captain said, "Don't panic, people
This happens all the time"
Then he hit the wrong red button
And we slipped outside the line

[Chorus]
Captain White, Captain White
Took the wheel and bent the night
Gummy ships with neon teeth
Chewing holes in gravity

[Bridge]
Oh no, oh my
There's a hole in the sky
And it's singing my name
With a sugary bite

Oh no, oh my
Tell the porch light goodbye
We are way past weird
With Captain White

[Breakdown]
Left foot, starlight
Right foot, fright
Hands up, meatbag
Wave at the light

[Final Chorus]
Captain White, Captain White
Took the wheel and blessed the bite
Gummy gods with laser eyes
Dancing on the dashboard lights

[Outro]
Red lights fading in the parking lot
Moon snapped back in the sky
Nobody knows where the gummies went
But we all saw Captain White

He Ate His Way to the Queen

Captain White came humming
Through the sugar-smoke machines
With a mouth full of static
And a jacket full of green

Every tower blinked red twice
Every siren bent the key
Every screen said welcome home
Every weapon disagreed

They came sweet
They came bright
They came soft and mean
Captain White kept eating
Till he ate his way to the Queen

He ate his way to the Queen
He ate his way to the Queen
Through the guns and the gates
And the gummy machines

He ate his way to the Queen
He ate his way to the Queen
Love was hiding in the empire
Like a glitch in the screen

Turn up the resonance
Turn up the room
Red lights talking
To the sugar moon

Turn up the resonance
Let it ring clean
Captain White is coming
Through the machine

There were drones with candy eyes
There were priests inside the sound
There were beams that made the heartbeat
Want to lay its weapons down

There were songs inside the ceiling
There were teeth inside the tune
There were pretty little orders
Blooming blue across the moon

But he bit the little signal
And he chewed the big machine
Captain White kept eating
Till he ate his way to the Queen

He ate his way to the Queen
He ate his way to the Queen
Through the guns and the gates
And the gummy machines

He ate his way to the Queen
He ate his way to the Queen
Love was hiding in the empire
Like a glitch in the screen

Turn up the resonance
Turn up the room
Red lights talking
To the sugar moon

Turn up the resonance
Let it ring clean
Captain White is coming
Through the machine

The throne room started pulsing
Violet under red
The guards forgot their orders
The lasers bowed their heads

She rose up from the shimmer
With a crown that sang alive
And Captain White stopped chewing
For the first damn time

Maybe it was hunger
Maybe it was light
Maybe every monster
Needs a monster done right

He bit the royal circuit
He broke the candy dream
And the Queen began to smile
Like she knew what it means

He ate his way to the Queen
He ate his way to the Queen
Through the guns and the gates
And the gummy machines

He ate his way to the Queen
He ate his way to the Queen
Love was hiding in the empire
Like a glitch in the screen

Turn up the resonance
Turn up the room
Red lights talking
To the sugar moon

Turn up the resonance
Let it ring clean
Captain White is coming
Through the machine

Now the ships don't fire
Now the alarms all sing
Now the moon rides shotgun
With the Gummy Queen

She feeds him bad machines
He keeps her empire clean
Two catastrophic lovers
In a candy limousine

Red lights on the ceiling
Sweet smoke in the room
Captain White is hungry
And the Queen says soon

He ate his way to the Queen
He ate his way to the Queen
Through the guns and the gates
And the gummy machines

He ate his way to the Queen
He ate his way to the Queen
Love was hiding in the empire
Like a glitch in the screen

Turn up the resonance
Turn up the room
Red lights talking
To the sugar moon

Turn up the resonance
Let it ring clean
Captain White is coming
Through the machine

Once and Future Gummy King

[Verse 1]
Captain White came polished bright
With a medal and a grin
He had sugar on his collar
He had trouble on his chin

Through the doors of the palace
Past the guards in candy glass
Came the sound of something ancient
Dragging thunder through the mass

[Pre-Chorus]
Then the room went soft and silent
And the chandeliers took wing
When a voice like melted thunder said
Bow down before the king

[Chorus]
I am the once and future Gummy King
I wore the crown before the stars could sing
You may have danced with my daughter
You may have tasted the ring
But boy, you do not bargain
With the once and future Gummy King

[Verse 2]
He had robes of royal raspberry
He had eyes of burning lime
He had knuckles made of licorice
And a jaw from elder time

He said, son, I know your uniform
I know your hungry kind
You come in peace with silver teeth
And leave a war behind

[Pre-Chorus]
Captain White said, sir, respectfully
I have no cruel intent
The king said, good, then both your kneecaps
May remain where they were meant

[Post-Chorus]
Sticky throne
Heavy crown
Sweet old man
Don't play around

Sticky throne
Ancient swing
Everybody fears
The Gummy King

[Verse 3]
Sugar Queen rolled both her eyes
Said, Daddy, let him breathe
He's the one who crossed the red lights
Just to bend one human knee

The king said, child, I've seen this tale
In syrup, blood, and flame
A soldier calls it destiny
Then leaves you with his name

[Pre-Chorus]
Captain White stood very still
While the court began to sway
Then he said, if I must prove it
Name the trial, name the day

[Bridge]
He said bring the royal goblet
He said bring the wedding blade
He said bring the family ledger
With the debts that love has made

He said sing the oath of sweetness
He said face the boiling spring
He said no one dates my daughter
Till they answer to the king

[Breakdown]
Who wants wings?
I had wings
Who wants war?
I had more

Who wants love?
Love will cling
Ask the once
And future king

[Final Chorus]
I am the once and future Gummy King
I wore the crown before the stars could sing
You may have danced with my daughter
You may have tasted the ring
But boy, you do not bargain
With the once and future Gummy King

I am the once and future Gummy King
Old as the wound where the first bell rings
If you would stand beside her
Then stand inside the sting
And kneel before the father
Of the Sugar Queen

[Outro]
Captain White bent one knee
The whole court started murmuring
The old king smiled with all his teeth
And said, we'll see, Mr. Wings

Raspberry Lime Moons

[Verse 1]
The saucer sat on church hill
Where the cornfields meet the sky
Three small moons hung as witnesses
The night refused to die

The candy court assembled
In their raspberry and lime
The old king took the center aisle
And counted out the time

[Pre-Chorus]
He said, son, I've heard your appetite
I've read your military file
I've measured your teeth and weighed your worth
Now I'll walk her down the aisle

[Chorus]
Eat and be eaten
Love and be true
All that I hunger for
Is answered by you

Through kingdom and cornfield
Through red light and war
The feast is beginning
The vow is the door

Captain White, take your bride
Let the sweet world know
Two catastrophic lovers
With nowhere left to go
But here

[Verse 2]
She came in a crown that hummed and sang
Her robe was burning bright
Her eyes said: I kept your name inside my jaws
Until tonight

The generals wept
The gummy soldiers stood
And somebody in the back said
I didn't think he could

[Pre-Chorus]
The king leaned down and whispered
What only fathers say
Then placed her hand in Captain White's
And turned his face away

[Chorus]
Eat and be eaten
Love and be true
All that I hunger for
Is answered by you

Through kingdom and cornfield
Through red light and war
The feast is beginning
The vow is the door

Captain White, take your bride
Let the sweet world know
Two catastrophic lovers
With nowhere left to go
But here

[Bridge]
He said: I have crossed the red lights
I have faced the ancient king
I have tasted every battlefield
And nothing tasted like this thing

She said: I kept your throne in silence
I have mourned you like a widow
I have worn the heavy sweetness
And I'd wear it still tomorrow

He said: I vow my appetite to you alone
She said: I vow my empire to your bone

We are the gummy and the hunger
We are the signal and the meat
We are the once and future feast

[Breakdown]
The old king raised his licorice fist
The candy court erupted
The moon went gold
The cornfield shook
And the whole sweet world combusted

[Final Chorus]
Eat and be eaten
Love and be true
All that I hunger for
Is answered by you

Through kingdom and cornfield
Through red light and war
The feast is beginning
The vow is the door

Captain White, take your bride
Let the whole world know
Two catastrophic lovers
With nowhere left to go
But here
Together
Here

[Outro]
The old king danced
When nobody saw
He smiled for one moment
With his licorice jaw

The three small moons went soft and low
The gummy court began to glow
Captain White held what he'd earned
And the sweet world turned

Father White

[Verse 1]
Captain White woke up at three
To a sound like a siren chewing glass
One little gummy on the ceiling fan
One in the sink, one stuck to his mask

Bottle on the counter, bottle on the floor
Bottle in a place no bottle should be
Sugar Queen said, baby, hold this one
And handed him something looking back with three eyes

[Pre-Chorus]
He said, I have fought through red lights
I have stood before the king
I have signed my name to danger
I have heard the engine sing

But nothing in the manual
Nothing in the war
Said fatherhood would melt the locks
And crawl beneath the door

[Chorus]
Father White, Father White
Walking circles in the kitchen light
One won't sleep and one can fly
One keeps blinking with another man's eyes

Father White, Father White
Trying to do the wrong thing right
Love is loud and sleep is gone
And every little gummy keeps hanging on

[Post-Chorus]
Sticky hands
Tiny screams
Cosmic stains
On the washing machine

Sticky hearts
Little kings
Daddy used to want wings

[Verse 2]
He warmed the milk to body temp
Or what he hoped a body meant
Checked the chart from the doctor drone
That said, do not leave them unattended near cement

One turned purple, one turned clear
One said mama in a voice too deep
One grew teeth and disappeared
Then reappeared pretending to sleep

[Pre-Chorus]
And he rocked one left
And he rocked one right
And he whispered, son, or daughter, or light

I don't know where you came from
I don't know what you are
But I know you are crying
And I know I am not far

[Verse 3]
Sugar Queen was sleeping hard
Like a monarch after war
Captain White stood in the dark
With three small moons on the nursery floor

He counted fingers, counted toes
Counted limbs that came and went
One had dimples just like his
One had the face of the firmament

Then the smallest grabbed his thumb
With a grip like a royal decree
And Captain White forgot the math
Of biology and ancestry

[Pre-Chorus]
He said, maybe blood is simple
Maybe blood is strange
Maybe love is just the thing
That stays when all the names rearrange

But still at four-thirteen
By the humming fridge light
He stared at that glowing baby
And thought, that one is not mine

[Bridge]
He called the king at sunrise
Said, sir, I need advice
The old man laughed for seven minutes
Then said, welcome to your life

He said, boy, you wanted sugar
You wanted royal flame
Now you got a house of little monsters
All practicing your name

Captain White said, respectfully
Some of these kids look new
The king said, son, in this family
So did you

[Breakdown]
Diaper bag, battle flag
Bottle warmer, body drag
Lullaby, alibi
Who put slime in Daddy's eye?

Pacifier, amplifier
Tiny teeth and nursery fire
Love is war and war is sweet
There are gummies on his feet

[Final Chorus]
Father White, Father White
Dancing circles in the kitchen light
One won't sleep and one can fly
One keeps blinking with another man's eyes

Father White, Father White
Trying to do the wrong thing right
Love is loud and sleep is gone
But every little gummy keeps hanging on

Father White, Father White
No more medals, no more flight
Just one more bottle, one more song
One more night of holding on

[Outro]
Captain White sat down at dawn
With a baby stuck to his chest
He said, I don't know if you're mine, little star
But I'm the one who hasn't slept

And the baby smiled
With too many teeth
And called him Dad
So soft and sweet

Unity Singularity

[Intro]
Order in the court
Order in the stars
Order in the sugar
Order in the scars

Everybody rise
For the Honorable Thing
The Queen is in the gallery
And nobody can sing

Except—

[Beat Drop]
Oooh, unity singularity
Oooh, split the infinity
Oooh, love got too heavy
Now we dance through the injury

[Verse 1: Attorney]
Captain White, state your name
For the record and the flame
Did you or did you not
Eat the army when they came?

Did you court the royal daughter?
Did you take her by surprise?
Did you promise her forever
With the sugar in your eyes?

[Captain White]
Ma'am, I was hungry
Then I was changed
The sky got quiet
And the stars got strange

I didn't plan it
I didn't scheme
I bit the nightmare
And woke in a dream

[Pre-Chorus: Attorney]
Answer yes or answer no
Did you love her, Captain?
Did you let her go?

[Captain White]
Yes to the first
No to the last
I'm still somewhere
In the blast

[Chorus]
Cosmic divorce
On the dance floor, baby
Love went to court
And the court went crazy

Stamp that file
Let the bailiff sing
She was my Queen
I was almost King

Oooh, unity singularity
Oooh, split the infinity
Oooh, love got too heavy
Now we dance through the injury

[Verse 2: Attorney]
Let the record show
He admits consumption
Let the record show
Royal gum corruption

Did you raise the gummy children?
Did you vanish into myth?
Did you leave the Sugar Queen
With a galaxy to fix?

[Captain White]
I held what I could
I failed what I held
Some men go quiet
When their heaven gets shelled

I wasn't hiding
I was learning to breathe
With a crown in the closet
And sugar on my sleeve

[Pre-Chorus: Attorney]
Captain White, look at her
Tell this court the truth
Was the Queen your conquest
Or your proof?

[Captain White]
She was the window
She was the door
She was the war
I didn't want anymore

[Chorus]
Cosmic divorce
On the dance floor, baby
Love went to court
And the court went crazy

Stamp that file
Let the bailiff sing
She was my Queen
I was almost King

[Bridge: Gummy Choir]
Exhibit A: the moon was melting
Exhibit B: the troops were gone
Exhibit C: two hearts colliding
Exhibit D: they danced too long

Exhibit E: the children glowing
Exhibit F: the father fled
Exhibit G: the Queen still watching
Exhibit H: the things unsaid

[Attorney Breakdown]
Permission to approach?
Permission to destroy?
Was she your wife
Or a cosmic toy?

Were you a hero?
Were you a fraud?
Were you just hungry
When you swallowed God?

[Captain White]
I don't know
I don't know
I don't know
But I loved her so

I don't know
I don't know
I don't know
But I loved her so

[Dance Break]
Order!
Disorder!
Order!
Disorder!

Queen of sugar
Man of meat
Two broken planets
One bad beat

[Final Chorus]
Cosmic divorce
On the dance floor, baby
Love went to court
And the court went crazy

Stamp that file
Let the bailiff sing
She was my Queen
I was almost King

Oooh, unity singularity
Oooh, split the infinity
Oooh, love got too heavy
Now we dance through the injury

[Outro]
Captain White, you may step down
The crown remains with the crown

The Queen looked once
He looked away

The court adjourned
But the music stayed

Earth Is Adjudicated

[Verse 1]
The King came down in a ruby crown
With a thousand candy ships
Every skyline started shaking
Every ocean learned to flip

He wore a robe of warning signs
He had thunder in his jaw
He looked upon the courts of Earth
And laughed at human law

[Pre-Chorus]
Oh, you stacked your little papers
Oh, you stamped your little lies
Now the sugar moon is rising
And the sentence fills the sky

[Chorus]
Earth is adjudicated
Earth is adjudicated
The verdict came in hot
And the planet's getting raided

Earth is adjudicated
Dance while it's invaded
The King is in the chamber
And the gavel's detonated

[Verse 2]
You split the stars like silverware
You weighed the moon in fees
You called my daughter property
Then asked me to say please

You built a world of little flags
And called the tangle peace
But every border melts tonight
In royal gummy heat

[Pre-Chorus]
Oh, your judges wore their black robes
Oh, your lawyers made their claims
Now the bears are in the capital
And the worms are in the planes

[Chorus]
Earth is adjudicated
Earth is adjudicated
The verdict came in hot
And the planet's getting raided

Earth is adjudicated
Dance while it's invaded
The King is in the chamber
And the gavel's detonated

[Bridge]
Poor little courts
Poor little crowns
Poor little nations
All falling down

Poor little maps
Poor little men
Arguing custody
At the end of the end

You touched my line
You mocked my throne
You made a mess
Of flesh and bone

So hear my decree
From sea to sea
The cosmos answers
Directly to me

[Breakdown]
I don't want appeal
I don't want debate
I don't want settlement
I don't want wait

I want the bells up
I want the bass loud
I want the whole world
Bowing in the crowd

[Final Chorus]
Earth is adjudicated
Earth is adjudicated
The verdict came in hot
And the planet's getting raided

Earth is adjudicated
Dance while it's invaded
The King is in the chamber
And the gavel's detonated

[Outro]
Earth is adjudicated
Earth is adjudicated
Earth is adjudicated

By sugar
By thunder
By crown
By law

Carport Gary

[Intro]
Shake, shake, little warning
In the grass by the morning light
Peace to every creature
But keep your heavy boots in sight

[Verse 1]
There's a garden by the roadside
Where the wild things learned to sing
Little minds in the clover
Little ghosts inside the spring

Some come looking for a monster
Some come laughing at the strange
But the flower does not owe you
A face you recognize by name

[Pre-Chorus]
So come on easy
Come on kind
Leave a little room
For another kind of mind

[Chorus]
Hey now
Who goes there?
Is that heaven in the kudzu
Or a neighbor in a chair?

Hey now
Sing it back
There's a choir in the roadside weeds
And stars behind the shack

[Verse 2]
I don't aim at children
I don't call it war
I just stand beneath the carport light
And listen past the door

There's a cricket with a modem
There's a frog with perfect pitch
There's a satellite blinking
Like it knows which man is which

[Key Verse]
And the Sugar Queen is watching
From a moon of corn syrup glass
She said Captain, quit your hollering
At the holy overpass

But the night kept on singing
Like it had a second throat
Like creation had a banjo
And a lawsuit in its coat

[Chorus]
Hey now
Who goes there?
Is that judgment in the treeline
Or a possum saying prayer?

Hey now
Sing it back
There's a choir in the roadside weeds
And stars behind the shack

[Bridge — the moment]
Are you God or are you Gary
Or one of Gary's boys?

I heard God clear His throat
I heard Gary slam his blind
I heard something with too many teeth
Whisper never mind

I saw red lights in the timber
I saw green ones in the grass
I saw my own reflection
In the windshield looking back

[Verse 3]
So I lowered my suspicion
Let the night keep being strange
Let the frogs file their pleadings
In the court of outer range

And I stood there like a question
With my shadow on the wall
Not brave enough for silence
Not lost enough to call

[Final Chorus]
Hey now
Who goes there?
Is that mercy in the static
Or a neighbor in his underwear?

Hey now
Sing it back
There's a choir in the roadside weeds
And stars behind the shack

[Outro]
I don't aim at children
I don't call it war
I just stand beneath the carport light
And listen past the door

If God is in the darkness
He can answer when He likes
But tonight He sent the tree frogs
And a thousand blinking lights

Alien GF (Vs. the Gummy Fuckers Pt. 2)

[Verse 1]
Red light flashing on the avenue
Blue-black smoke in the morning dew
Flags on the ground like broken teeth
Everybody chanting, "Captain White beneath"

Boots hit syrup in a perfect line
Sirens singing in four-four time
He raised his chin to the burning sky
Said, "Stand back, boys, I remember why"

[Pre-Chorus]
Gumdrop helmets
Licorice guns
Candy soldiers
Marching as one

He opened his mouth
For the miracle spark
But the battlefield smiled
In the dark

[Chorus]
Captain White versus the alien gummy fuckers
Bite down, bite down, save the world again
Captain White versus the alien gummy fuckers
But the old fire won't answer him

No taste
No spark
No thunder in the jaw
Just sweet dead rubber
And the whole world saw

[Verse 2]
He caught the first one by the candy throat
Bit through the armor and waited for gold
Waited for lightning, waited for flame
But nothing in his mouth knew his name

He bit again till his molars rang
The gummy ranks began to sing
"Chew, little hero, chew for the crowd
Show us the hunger you talked about"

[Pre-Chorus]
Marching left
Marching right
Candy boots around Captain White

The snare kept cracking
The lights went red
And the legend kept biting
But the miracle was dead

[Chorus]
Captain White versus the alien gummy fuckers
Bite down, bite down, save the world again
Captain White versus the alien gummy fuckers
But the old fire won't answer him

No taste
No spark
No thunder in the jaw
Just sweet dead rubber
And the whole world saw

[Bridge]
He used to be appetite
He used to be law
He used to be teeth in the alien jaw
He used to be terrible
He used to be true
Now the sugar army laughs as he chews

Left, right
Left, right
Down goes Captain White

Left, right
Left, right
No taste in the bite

[Verse 3]
They dragged him under by his uniform
Past the cracked statue and the candy storm
One eye open, one rib gone
Still trying to bite with the battle on

Somebody shouted from a bunker stair
"Get him below, get him out of the air"
The doors slid wide with a hospital glow
And the drums cut hard when they pulled him below

[Final Chorus]
Captain White versus the alien gummy fuckers
Bite down, bite down, save the world again
Captain White versus the alien gummy fuckers
But the old fire won't answer him

No taste
No spark
No thunder in the jaw
Just fluorescent light
And a locked steel door

[Outro — cross-fade into Bunker Berries]
Left, right
Left, right
Get him below

Left, right
Left, right
Get him below

Captain White
Can you taste today?

Captain White
Can you taste today?

Bunker Berries

[Verse 1]
Down in the lab where the floor lights flash
World outside turning into ash
Scientists sweating by the stainless tray
Saying, "Captain White, can you taste today?"

Red one
Blue one
Green one too
He said, "Doc, I hate what I'm telling you"
He wiped his mouth and he stared at the door
Nothing tastes good anymore

[Pre-Chorus]
Then the old doc slid through the smoke
With a little red berry and a serious look
She said, "Chew this slow, don't ask me why
Let it roll where the sweet things died"

[Chorus]
Try this
Get it in your mouth
Try this
While the world burns down
If the king's upstairs
And the floor's at war
Try this
Nothing tastes good anymore

Try this
Turn the sour into shine
Try this
Put the groove back in your mind
If the sugar won't sing
Like it sang before
Try this
Nothing tastes good anymore

[Verse 2]
Thirty seconds, tongue to cheek
Lab coats counting like a holy beat
Ten, twenty, thirty, go
Now give that gummy little thing a show

He bit down
Eyes went wide
Whole room leaned to the sweeter side
He saw the Queen in a neon storm
He saw the bitter world reborn

[Pre-Chorus]
The bunker shook
The sirens cried
Somebody said, "Is he laughing or alive?"
Captain White stood up real slow
Said, "Doctor, where did that flavor go?"

[Chorus]
Try this
Get it in your mouth
Try this
While the world burns down
If the king's upstairs
And the floor's at war
Try this
Nothing tastes good anymore

[Bridge: Call and Response]
Call: Doctor, what did you give that man?
Response: Fruit from a desperate plan
Call: Doctor, why did the Captain cry?
Response: Sweet came back before goodbye

Call: Doctor, is the kingdom saved?
Response: No, but the mouth got brave
Call: Doctor, is the war still on?
Response: Yes, but the taste came home

[Breakdown]
Chew it round
Chew it round
Move that miracle all over town

Chew it round
Chew it round
Make that sour sweetness found

Miracle protocol
Bunker getting physical
Gummy metaphysical
Tongue turns criminal

Miracle protocol
Kingdom irresistible
Earth still edible
Captain White is critical

[Final Chorus]
Try this
Get it in your mouth
Try this
While the world burns down
If the king's upstairs
And the floor's at war
Try this
Nothing tastes good anymore

Try this
Turn the sour into shine
Try this
Put the groove back in your mind
If the sugar won't sing
Like it sang before
Try this
Nothing tastes good anymore

[Outro]
One red berry in the war
Captain White wants more
One red berry in the war
Captain White wants more

All At Once

[Verse 1]
They came down sweet from the burning sky
With sugar glass ships and a million eyes
They folded the flags, they salted the rain
They laughed at the names on the courthouse flame

The cities went quiet
The oceans went bright
The moon had a bruise
In the gelatin light

And somewhere below
Where the sirens were gone
Captain White opened his eyes at dawn

[Pre-Chorus]
He said
I was only a hunger
I was only a man
I was only a question
With teeth in my hands

But the world is a table
And the hour has come
If the feast is the ending
Then the ending is one

[Chorus]
All at once
All at once
He saw every mouth in the alien sun

All at once
All at once
He chewed through the war before the war could run

No sword in his hand
No crown on his head
Just a human voice
And the hunger of the dead

All at once
All at once
Captain White ate the problem all at once

[Verse 2]
The Gummy King roared from his throne in the clouds
Your species is broken, your gods are too loud
Your judges are children, your mercy is small
Your planet is sentenced, your kingdoms will fall

But White kept walking
Through the candy-red storm
With a look on his face
Like the world had been born

Not rage
Not revenge
Not a soldier's delight
Just a terrible peace
In the appetite

[Pre-Chorus]
He said
I have carried the animal
I have carried the shame
I have carried the body
That forgot its name

But if life is a furnace
And love is a law
Then I open my mouth
For the sake of us all

[Chorus]
All at once
All at once
He saw every mouth in the alien sun

All at once
All at once
He chewed through the war before the war could run

No sword in his hand
No crown on his head
Just a human voice
And the hunger of the dead

All at once
All at once
Captain White ate the problem all at once

[Bridge]
There are men who build walls
There are men who build graves
There are men who go missing
When the little ones wave

There are kings made of sugar
There are queens made of fire
There are fathers who vanish
Inside their desire

But somewhere beyond
What a body can know
There's a mercy so strange
It looks hungry below

And the Earth held its breath
And the stars leaned in
And the monster became
What could save them again

[Final Chorus]
All at once
All at once
He saw every wound in the alien sun

All at once
All at once
He swallowed the end before the end was done

No sword in his hand
No crown on his head
Just a human voice
And the living and dead

All at once
All at once
Captain White ate the problem all at once

[Outro]
And when it was over
There was nothing to say
But the wind through the wires
And the first clean day

He stood in the silence
With the sky in his gut
Not proud of the hunger
But awake to what it was

All at once
All at once
Captain White ate the problem all at once

I Kept Your Throne

[Verse 1]
From the sugared glass of the upper deck
I watched your little planet split
Their cities foamed like broken teeth
Their oceans learned to fizz

My father opened up his hand
And poured his judgment down
But I was not there for his war
I came to see your crown

[Pre-Chorus]
They called you monster
They called you lost
They dressed your hunger up in shame
But I remember what you were
Before they taught you smaller names

[Chorus]
I kept your throne
I kept your crown
I kept the court from chewing through the walls
I kept your cup of flame unspilled
I kept your name inside my jaws

I kept your throne
I kept your sign
I fed the moons on royal wine
Now lift your face from all that bone
My king, I kept your throne

[Verse 2]
Your hands were full of gummy stars
Your mouth was bright with war
You ate their flags, you ate their guns
And still you wanted more

The generals screamed into the smoke
The judges begged the sky
But I have heard a sweeter law
When empires learn to die

[Pre-Chorus]
They don't know the shape of grief
They don't know the taste of kingdom
They thought they buried what you were
But sugar keeps what meat forgets

[Chorus]
I kept your throne
I kept your crown
I kept the court from chewing through the walls
I kept your cup of flame unspilled
I kept your name inside my jaws

I kept your throne
I kept your sign
I fed the moons on royal wine
Now lift your face from all that bone
My king, I kept your throne

[Bridge]
I have kept your throne in silence
I have kept your cup of flame
I have mourned you like a widow
I have whispered back your name

I have worn the heavy sweetness
I have smiled with sharpened teeth
I have waited in the warship
With the kingdom underneath

[Final Chorus]
I kept your throne
I kept your crown
I kept the court from chewing through the walls
I kept your cup of flame unspilled
I kept your name inside my jaws

I kept your throne
Now take your sign
Come home through smoke and royal wine
The little world has come undone
My king, your kingdom has begun

[Outro]
I kept your throne
I kept your throne
I kept your throne
Inside my jaws

Mr. White

[Verse 1]
Mr. White sat third row back
In a desk with a scar cut deep
Sun through the blinds like prison bars
On a boy too bored to sleep

Teacher talked about somewhere else
Some war, some king, some date
He rubbed his chin with two bare fingers
Wondering if he should shave

[Pre-Chorus]
And the clock kept chewing minutes
And the room kept breathing chalk
And he thought, what the hell am I doing here
Learning how to sit and talk?

Then the bell rang out like thunder
And the whole world came alive
A hundred bodies in the hallway
Trying not to look surprised

[Chorus]
Son, let me give you wings
There's nothing for you in these halls
Just lockers, bells, and broken things
And your name scratched on the wall

Son, let me give you wings
Come on, step into the light
You don't have to know where you're going yet
You just have to leave tonight

[Verse 2]
New Albany was buzzing loud
Like a hive behind the doors
Girls with books against their hearts
Boys declaring little wars

Someone laughed, someone shoved
Someone dropped a tray
Mr. White stood in the current
Like he might get swept away

There beside the trophy case
With a smile too clean to trust
A man in blue with a folded flag
Said, boy, you look like us

[Pre-Chorus]
And the floor kept shaking under him
And the lockers flashed like chrome
And the future smelled like floor wax
And gasoline and going home

He rubbed his chin one more time
Felt the roughness coming through
And the man said, I can see it, son
There's something more in you

[Chorus]
Son, let me give you wings
There's nothing for you in these halls
Just lockers, bells, and broken things
And your name scratched on the wall

Son, let me give you wings
Come on, step into the light
You don't have to know where you're going yet
You just have to leave tonight

[Post-Chorus]
Wings
Wings
You were never built to crawl
Wings
Wings
Don't you hear the engine call?

[Bridge]
Years before the red lights found him
Years before the sugar sang
Years before the thing inside him
Learned the shape of hunger's name

He was just a boy in motion
With a shadow down the spine
And a stranger selling heaven
On a dotted little line

[Final Chorus]
Son, let me give you wings
There's nothing for you in these halls
Just lockers, bells, and broken things
And your name scratched on the wall

Son, let me give you wings
Come on, step into the light
You don't have to know what you're becoming
You just have to leave tonight

[Outro]
Mr. White walked through the doorway
While the hallway roared behind
First real shave still waiting on him
First real life still unsigned

And the man said, son
Let me give you wings