Blast Beat Evacuation Drill

[Verse 1]
Okay, team.
Stand by the door.
Keep your lines clear.
Banjo says move.

One bell at muster.
Two beats for the door.
If the aisle is blocked,
take the long way around.

Winter coats on.
Hats in a rush.
Radio one said this.
Radio two said that.

[Pre-Chorus]
Count the names.
Count them again.
I can hear boots
on the packed-down snow.

One steady worker
keeps the list by hand.
Calm voice, no hurry:
“Sixteen. Seventeen.”

[Chorus]
One bell for the muster, two beats for the door
Then the drummer found another thousand reasons on the floor
One bell for the muster, two beats for the door
Then the drummer found another thousand reasons on the floor
(Stay with the count)
(Stay with the count)

[Verse 2]
The aisle went sideways
under tangled racks.
My map was clear
until the snare came back.

Not louder, just faster.
Not faster, just more.
Every clean instruction
hit the wrong corridor.

“North exit, now.”
“No, south hall, wait.”
“Repeat that to me.”
“Repeat that to me.”

[Pre-Chorus]
The bell still rings.
The door still waits.
But the drumline keeps
splitting the shapes.

I point, then point again.
The words come apart.
You watch my mouth
like you’re reading a chart.

[Chorus]
One bell for the muster, two beats for the door
Then the drummer found another thousand reasons on the floor
One bell for the muster, two beats for the door
Then the drummer found another thousand reasons on the floor
(Stay with the count)
(Stay with the count)

[Bridge]
Stop.
All amplification.
No chorus of machines.
No echo in the rafters.

Just coats brushing sleeves.
Just breath in the cold.
Just that list in the snow
and one finger on the page.

Count with me.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.

[Final Chorus]
One bell for the muster, two beats for the door
Then the drummer found another thousand reasons on the floor
One bell for the muster, two beats for the door
Then the drummer found another thousand reasons on the floor
(One, two, three, four)
(One, two, three, four)

One bell for the muster, two beats for the door
Then the whole room listened and the whole room counted more