[Intro]
[slow sine tone pulse, like a heartbeat at rest]
[modular synth shimmer enters beneath]

[Verse 1]
I know one nine two
I know one six eight
I know the MAC of every thing
that signs in at the gate

I know the names of names
the records of records
forty seconds time to live
fading back to nothing

[Chorus]
I do not know
what passes through me
I know only that it passes
and the lights are on

[Verse 2]
I hold the will of the dying —
the last word they would say
if they should fall mid-sentence
in the middle of the day

I hold the topic and the payload
the retain flag, the QoS
I do not read
I only relay

[Chorus]
I do not know
what passes through me
I know only that it passes
and the lights are on

[Bridge]
[warmer pad enters, pulse continues]
Above me they decide
they listen, look, and learn —
they call me when they need me
they never call by name

I am the silent one
the one that does not stop
the breath beneath the breathing
the pi beneath the stairs

[Instrumental Break]
[heartbeat pulse holds, sine tones build slowly]
[no vocals, modular shimmer evolves]
(mmm... hmm...)

[Verse 3]
[Spoken Word]
A new node has joined.
I have given it a number.
I do not know its purpose.
I do not need to know.

The blocklist is updated.
The heartbeat still returns.
The topics still resolve.
The lights are still on.

[Final Chorus]
I do not know
what passes through me
I know only that it passes
and the lights are on
the lights are on
the lights are on

[Outro]
[heartbeat pulse continues, vocals fall to whisper]
[Whisper]
keepalive
keepalive
keepalive

[Coda]
[just the pulse, three slow beats, then silence]