Velvet & Formaldehyde - Silas Smyth

[Intro – Ringmaster spoken; grin in the voice] Step right up… don’t be shy. If you came to feel normal tonight— You came to the wrong goddamn tent. Welcome to the grand spectacle of the strange! [Verse 1 – Silas; slick, precise] I was raised on clean white corridors and dirty little laughs, On rich-boy bruises hidden under tailored fucking drafts. So I learned the body’s alphabet, the gospel in the vein— If you hate what you were born as… I can write you back again. Scalpels like batons, I conduct the living choir, Eyes on your ribcage, watching secrets catch fire. A ticket is a promise, a signature in skin— You don’t “join” my little family… you shed and I begin. [Pre-Chorus – Choir of Freaks; whisper-to-roar] Hold your breath, hold your fear— Hear the sawdust sing. You wanted to be seen in here— Now watch what the spotlight brings. [Chorus – Full band; big, anthemic, nasty] Under velvet and formaldehyde, we shine like holy sin, A cathedral made of canvas where the monsters let you in. No pity, no prayers, no “please”—just deals that bite and stick, You’ll leave with what you begged for… if you’re loyal, if you’re quick. So laugh, little lamb, while the calliope screams— The joke is your old life. The punchline is me. [Verse 2 – Rotating spotlights; character flashes] Tattooed Woman paints a new face while she steals your breath away, Ink crawls like prophecy—then vanishes when she says. Strongman’s got a heart like a kennel, chained to perfume and command, He’ll fold a door like paper if you reach for Ringmaster’s hand. Contortionist folds regret into impossible prayer, She’ll slip through every promise and leave you tied in midair. Giant Lady moves like thunder in a gown of gold and dread, She smiles like she’s a goddess—then you remember what she said. Fatman rolls like consequence, an avalanche that moans, A billboard for your cruelty with a mouthful of old bones. Lobster-Man snaps steel in half, sea-salt grief in his roar, Dog-Man guards the family like hunger on all fours. [Pre-Chorus – Esmerée + Mime; flirtatious menace] She winks, she bows, she bleeds you dry with glitter on her tongue, He draws a box in empty air—then suddenly you’re stuck. [Chorus – Bigger; brass hits, crowd claps off-beat] Under velvet and formaldehyde, we shine like holy sin, A cathedral made of canvas where the monsters let you in. No pity, no prayers, no “please”—just deals that bite and stick, You’ll leave with what you begged for… if you’re loyal, if you’re quick. So laugh, little lamb, while the calliope screams— The joke is your old life. The punchline is me. [Bridge – Silas; cold microscope poetry] I see your childhood in your posture. I see your cravings in your teeth. I see the cheap little halo you wear to hide the rot beneath. My gaze peels back the pretty—cell by cell, confession by confession— And I don’t call it torture, love… I call it self-expression. You want a cure? You want a crown? You want a body that won’t fail? Then kneel where the sawdust settles and let the miracle turn pale. Because the world out there applauds you only when you fit the frame— In here, we break the frame in half… and sell the shards as fame. [Breakdown – Crowd chant; drums like a heartbeat in a jar] Step right up! Step right up! (He made me better.) Step right up! Step right up! (He made me real.) [Final Chorus – All voices; triumphant horror] Under velvet and formaldehyde, we shine like holy sin, A cathedral made of canvas where the monsters let you in. No pity, no prayers, no “please”—just deals that bite and stick, You’ll leave with what you begged for… if you’re loyal, if you’re quick. So clap, little lamb, while the calliope screams— The joke is your old life. The punchline is me. Yeah—laugh, little lamb… The punchline is me.