[Intro]
(beep)
eleven seconds of nothing
(one beat late, the tile:) …scratch
attention, shoppers: voluntary recall
the recalled item is me
i came here of my own free will
(tile, one beat late:) …free will
the delay is the tell

[Verse 1]
i camped on the courtyard pavers, number one in the queue
pink tarp, folding chair, first in line for the new
word clicked down the straightener wire: first gloss ever fired
so i slept in my shoes for it — devotion, certified
then something in the checkout line leaned in with perfect teeth
bit clean through my receipt, didn't want the paper underneath
by morning the wound had healed in little laminated stripes
i wear my barcode where the bite went — it beeps at every light

[Pre-Chorus]
i read the warning label
the warning label was the ad
i know exactly what made me rabid
and i chose the line anyway
free will's the one thing always on clearance
so i took the last one and i paid

[Chorus]
it's just a scratch (just a scratch)
laminated, non-refundable
it's just a scratch (just a scratch)
official statement, final sale
it's just a scratch (just a scratch)
don't ask the wrist — the wrist just scans
it's just a scratch (just a scratch)
laminated, non-refundable

[Post-Chorus]
beep — beep — beep
(scan me, scan me)
beep — beep — beep
item not found in the system
item not found in the system

[Verse 2]
this notice applies to one unit, purchased overnight, in-store
no receipt survives — it's in my teeth on the food court floor
lot number: whatever bit me / size: one size bites all
return the item to the nearest kiosk — (i am the nearest kiosk)
eleven seconds, then the beep; one beat late, the wall
down under they call it a heartbeat — up here it's a flash-sale countdown
ten… nine… restock the hunger

[Pre-Chorus 2]
i filed this recall against myself — plaintiff, product, defect
customer service, can you hold? i've been holding since the checkout
i know exactly what made me rabid and i chose the line anyway
free will was on clearance — i got the last one, i got the last one

[Chorus]
it's just a scratch (just a scratch)
laminated, non-refundable
it's just a scratch (just a scratch)
official statement, final sale
it's just a scratch (just a scratch)
don't ask the wrist — the wrist just scans
it's just a scratch (just a scratch)
laminated, non-refundable

[Post-Chorus]
beep — beep — beep
(scan me, scan me)
price check on a pulse
price check on a pulse
item not found in the system

[Bridge]
low tide and the lagoon light goes glaze
i walked up the road with the basket still hooked to my arm
scratched at the adamson house tile — the last real gloss this coast made
the tide line's laid out like an endcap: everything must go, everything must go
the hunger is a loyalty program — platinum status, every hour
i came of my own free will
(tile, one beat late:) …free will
the delay is the tell
(harmony:) the delay is the door
laminated — non-refundable — just a scratch
bring a shovel for old habit, you won't need it
the gloss was above ground the whole time
the beep is not a countdown — the beep is a heartbeat
the echo is not a mock — the echo is the answer

[Final Chorus]
it's just a scratch (just a scratch)
laminated, non-refundable
it's just a scratch (just a scratch)
official statement, final sale
(tile, one beat late:) …just a scratch
(tile, one beat late:) …final sale
the wall scanned me home

[Outro]
beep — eleven seconds — (tile:) …scratch
it was never a countdown, it was a pulse
doors open at low tide
bring a shovel for old habit — you won't need it
(beep)
(tile, one beat late: beep)
i said it back one beat late
now i'm in the choir with nowhere else to go
and nowhere else is a place