**The Devil Inside Me** [Intro – whispered, intimate, unsettling] Can you hear him?

When the lights go down…

He starts to talk.

And I…

I let him. [Verse 1 – low, rough, half-spoken singing] There's a shadow underneath my skin,

A little black hole where the light gets in.

I wear a smile like a loaded gun,

I look so calm, but I'm coming undone. Something is crawling behind my eyes,

Feeding on secrets, living on lies.

I hear him laughing when I'm alone,

A second heartbeat inside my bones. [Pre-Chorus – rising tension, irregular phrasing] Oh… can you feel it?

Under my tongue…

Oh… I can hear it…

He's having fun. [Chorus – raw, raspy, explosive, strange melodic bends] THERE'S A DEVIL INSIDE ME!

And he won't let go!

He's dancing in the darkness,

Where nobody goes! There's a devil inside me!

And he knows my name!

I tried to bury the monster…

But he rose again! [Post-Chorus – rhythmic, almost spoken, playful menace] Ha-ha…

Who's laughing now?

Ha-ha…

Who's wearing the crown? [Verse 2 – quirky, gritty, shifting between speech and melody] I made him out of every scar,

Every broken dream inside a jar.

I gave him teeth, I gave him eyes,

I taught him how to wear my disguise. He walks like me, he talks like me,

He steals my face when people see.

I built the cage, I held the key…

So tell me why he's holding me? [Pre-Chorus – restrained, then increasingly unhinged] Oh… can you feel it?

Under my skin…

Oh… I tried to lock him…

But I let him in! [Chorus – more intense, rough vocal attack] THERE'S A DEVIL INSIDE ME!

And he won't let go!

He's dancing in the darkness,

Where nobody goes! There's a devil inside me!

And he knows my name!

I tried to bury the monster…

BUT HE ROSE AGAIN! [Bridge – eerie call-and-response, whispered then snarling] I said, “You're mine.”

He laughed, “Am I?” I said, “Get out!”

He said, “You first.” I said, “You're just a part of me!”

He smiled…

“Then why are you afraid of me?” [Breakdown – sparse, strange, almost spoken] Knock, knock…

Who's there? The thing you made. No…

No, no, no… [Final Chorus – wild, distorted emotion, unpredictable melodic phrasing] THERE'S A DEVIL INSIDE ME!

LET HIM TAKE CONTROL!

He's the ugly little secret

Living in my soul! There's a devil inside me!

Now we're one and the same!

I tried to kill the monster… BUT I GAVE HIM MY NAME! [Outro – soft whisper, unsettling pause] Don't look behind you… I'm already there. Ha… ha… ha…