Smile Like A Sales Pitch
VerseMorning polish on my teeth
my skin pulled tight around a hollow mannequin grin that fits this tailored suit too well
Cards on the table, cards in my pocket
little white tombstones stacked with names I want to watch go still and fell
Every compliment sticks to my face like tape while my mind rearranges furniture
bodies, plastic, and a very quiet drill
I nod through the boardroom chatter while an inner voice paces in circles
tapping on my skull, whispering who I should kill
Tapping out rhythms on my pen
picturing red fingerprints on glass and wondering which one of these perfect smiling dolls will fill the thrill.
[Pre Chorus]They only see the haircut
not the hammer in my head
They hear my harmless laughter
not the marching of their dead.
[Chorus]I smile for the body count no one else can see
Every joke they crack just sharpens something restless inside me
I walk through crowds like a wolf in a rented human skin
Shaking hands, taking notes
plotting how and where and when it all caves in.
VerseRestaurant candles flicker on her lips while my thoughts draw chalk lines under her chair and down the hallway floor
She talks about charity, galleries, love
I picture soundproof walls and a polished axe resting by the bedroom door
My hand brushes hers, she thinks romance
I think pressure on a throat and red mist that only lives inside my private lore
Waiter pours wine, I picture it thicker, heavier
running along tile
matching the stain in my head I always want more
Every heartbeat counts backward
every laugh-track sentence she spills just feeds a hunger that keeps scratching at my core.
[Pre Chorus]They toast to bright futures while I hum along off key
Inside I see their endings
and it feels like home to me.
[Chorus]I smile for the body count no one else can see
Every joke they crack just sharpens something restless inside me
I walk through crowds like a wolf in a rented human skin
Shaking hands, taking notes
plotting how and where and when it all caves in.
VerseLate night stereo up too loud
plastic on the floor in my imagination
rain on the window like a metronome of dread
I dance with ghosts that wear their business suits
humming along to pop songs while I picture every swing inside my head
Neighbors think I party alone
they never hear the inner crowd screaming for a fresh set of ripped-up threads
In the bathroom mirror my reflection flickers
one side saint in Armani, one side devil in blood red
If I ever let that second face out
the city would turn into a quiet gallery hung with every thought I never said.
BridgeMaybe I am nothing but teeth, hair
and hunger with a credit card and a plan
Maybe every heartbeat is a countdown written in marker on the back of my hand
If the mask hits the floor and the real one stays
no one walks out of this clean, All that shine
all that charm
all that murder washing through a human machine.
[Final Chorus]I smile for the body count no one else can see
They clap for my promotion while my pulse writes violent poetry
I move through glass and concrete like a knife beneath their skin
Perfect suit, perfect tie, perfect lunatic within
Shaking hands, taking notes
waiting for the night I finally let him win.