SPARK IN THE DARK
Words & Music by Rhob Elliott
©2009, 2025 Awful Racket Music (ASCAP)
All Rights Reserved

[Verse 1]
Shadows crawl across the floor
Whispers creep behind the door
Moonlight’s cold, the silence thick
Every heartbeat feels like a trick

[Pre-Chorus]
Something's coming, can’t explain
In the stillness, thrill and pain

[Chorus]
I’m a spark in the dark
Strike me once, I leave a mark
Fire in disguise
With danger in my eyes
I don’t run, I ignite
In the black of the night
I’m a spark in the dark
And I’m ready to start

[Verse 2]
Venom lips and silent steps
Truth gets lost where secrets slept
Breathless now, you're in too deep
The kind of fire you don’t want to keep

[Pre-Chorus]
Underneath the calm, I twist
Wrapped in smoke and shadows kissed

[Chorus]
I’m a spark in the dark
Strike me once, I leave a mark
Fire in disguise
With danger in my eyes
I don’t run, I ignite
In the black of the night
I’m a spark in the dark
And I’m ready to start

[Bridge]
You thought the night was safe, was still
But I’m the heat beneath the chill
A flicker’s all it takes to burn
Now watch the world around you turn

[Rap]
Came from the silence, born in the void
A flash in the pitch where the light gets destroyed
Tiptoe breath, yeah, I’m built from fear
But I dance with the flames that never disappear
This ain’t luck, it’s a calculated spark
I paint chaos in the shape of art

[Chorus]
I’m a spark in the dark
Strike me once, I leave a mark
Fire in disguise
With danger in my eyes
No escape from the bite
When I kiss the night
I’m a spark in the dark
Your silent, deadly light

[Outro]
So close your eyes
Make your peace
When I arrive
The games don’t cease
No warning
No bark
Just a spark in the dark

FIRING UP THE NIGHT

SPARK IN THE DARK

He left the town in silence gray
With nothing firm to make him stay
A whisper in the clinic wing
They say he heard the badger sing

Years went on, the seat grew cold
Some burdens can't be bought or sold

The Proctological Son returns
Where rubber snaps and candle burns
No questions asked, no glances mean
He digs where no one else has seen

His boots are clean, his gaze is tight
He probes the depths of backdoor blight
No shame, no pride, just vaseline vase
Inspecting cracks the brave won't face

He charts the map that few have drawn
A path through dusk, behind the dawn

The Proctological Son returns
Where silence quakes and posture churns
With steady hands and thoughtful squint
He reads the folds like ancient print

They speak in code around the square
Of mysteries he’d dare not share
He nods, he sits, he takes the chair
A man whose fate is derrièred there

His oath was sworn in hush and hum
To go where some will one day come

The Proctological Son returns
To where decorum twists and turns
He listens close, he gently taps
Then vanishes between the gaps

He bears no crown, he needs no throne
His work is best when left unknown
The tales are brief, the cheeks are red
But every seat recalls what's said

And when they knock, he’s sure to run
The sacred task is never done

The Proctological Son returns
Where shame is soot and courage burns
A shepherd of the hidden cleft
He probes, corrects, then exits left


The Return of the Proctological Son


A soulful retro ballad blending smoky jazz club ambiance with deep emotional blues. The arrangement features vintage piano, upright bass, brushed drums, muted trumpet, and subtle doo-wop harmonies. Rich in melancholic atmosphere, the track moves through moments of theatrical drama and raw vulnerability, with dynamic shifts between sparse instrumentation and full-bodied crescendos. Lyrically poetic and bittersweet, the song captures heartbreak with irony, sass, and soul. Perfect for dimly lit bars, late-night reflection, and timeless heartbreak anthems.


[Intro – slow vintage piano, crackling vinyl, faint jazz trumpet]
(0:00–0:25)

[Verse 1]
I burned your letters, watched the ink run dry,
Still hear your voice when I close my eyes.
You left your coat, still hangs by the door,
Just like your lies, it don’t fit no more.
The radio plays that sad refrain,
I light a smoke, and I curse the rain.

[Instrumental 1 – upright bass groove, muted trumpet]
(0:25–0:50)

[Chorus]
I wish it would rain down, drown out my pain now,
Wash all these memories down the drain now.
If thunder would shout what I can’t say,
Maybe I’d forget your name someday.
But the skies just tease, and I’m stuck with me,
Wishin’ for rain that won’t ever be.

[Instrumental 2 – doo-wop backing vocals, slow snare brushes]
(0:50–1:15)

[Verse 2]
I sip red wine in my wedding dress,
A thrift store queen in a royal mess.
Your ghost taps time on my windowpane,
Still playin’ games in my foolish brain.
The neighbors say I should move on,
But they don’t know what it's like when he's gone.

[Instrumental 3 – Hammond organ swell, sax riff]
(1:15–1:40)

[Bridge]
You poured me promises, sweet and strong,
I drank ’em down, knew they were wrong.
Now the glass is cracked, the table's bare,
And love’s just smoke in empty air.

[Chorus – full band, soulful harmonies]
I wish it would rain down, soak through my skin now,
Wash all the sins that I’ve kept within now.
If the heavens would break like I did that day,
Maybe I'd feel a little less gray.
But the clouds just grin like they’re in on it,
And I sit in silence, bit by bit.

[Interlude – jazzy piano solo, ambient city rain FX]
(2:10–2:35)

[Verse 3]
A vinyl crackle, the past rewinds,
Back to the night you crossed my lines.
I danced in heels with a shattered heart,
You watched me fall right from the start.
But baby, I ain’t beggin’ no more,
I got my pride, and a liquor store.

[Instrumental 4 – low bass walk, dramatic string stabs]
(2:35–3:00)

[Reprise – slowed down chorus, whispered vocals]
I wish it would rain down... just for me now,
Hide all the tears they ain’t meant to see now.
But the sky stays still, just like you did,
And the storm's still trapped in this messed-up kid.

[Instrumental 5 – slow fade with trumpet and piano outro]
(3:00–3:30)

[Outro – whispery ad-libs, fading reverb]
Just one drop... just one sign...
But I guess the rain’s not mine.


Rain That Never Came

LYRICS
Jimmy signed his name at seventeen, said he’d beat the system clean
Walked into that office of his own free will
While I stayed home, waiting for my number's call
Figured if they wanted me, they'd have to come and get me still
Mama cried the same tears twice that year
But Jimmy said “Don't worry, Mama, they don’t ship off boys that volunteer”

Now I'm drinking German beer while my brother counts the days
Writing letters I can't send fast enough to chase the fears away
He thought he'd found the answer, I hoped I'd avoid the curse
Funny how the world spins backwards when you think you know it first

They saw these greasy hands could fix what others broke
Sent me to a motor pool with nothing there to fight
Jimmy got a rifle and a one-way ticket to the heat
Where country boys learned to move without the light
I met Kathy at a U.S.O. dance, her English sweet and slow
Jimmy met the monsoon in a place no one should ever know

Now I'm drinking German beer while my brother pays and pays
Writing letters full of nothing that give back what they took away
He thought he'd found the answer, I hoped I'd avoid the curse
Funny how the world spins backwards when you think you know it first

A lifetime has passed since Jimmy made it home
He don't talk about the Delta or the names he used to know
I'm still with Kathy, a blessed life mine by chance
How a coward's hesitation became my lucky dance
We sit on Dad's porch in silence, share a bottle and the view
Two brothers who went to war, only one made it through

He still flinches at the thunder
I still feel the weight of luck I didn't earn
Some choices ain't really choices
Can't cheat fate, can't avoid your turn

Jimmy signed his name at seventeen
I waited for the letter
He was trying to be smart
Neither one knew better

©2025 Joseph Moore

Keep On

Neither One Knew Better

Graduated from Corman Park College of Dental Numismatics in 1993, with a graduate degree in Experimental Post-Sludge.

mchorsebones@gmail.com

The Return of the Proctological Son

MC Horsebones

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