What I Was Afraid Of · Track 73 · middle
Han Solo’s DL-44 blaster
Han Solo’s DL-44 blaster — *Star Wars*. Register: fiction. This song is sung BY this weapon, in first person, about the one thing IT was afraid of. Find the fear that is true of this specific object, not a generic one.
No audio yet — generation pending.
Lyrics
[Intro] You used to tell them I was all you needed. No ancient religion. Just me at your hip. [Verse 1] I know the exact shape of your palm, Calloused and quick, never sweating the draw. I was the heavy right-side lean of the macroscope, The brutal, unspoken answer to the galaxy’s law. Before your brain even registered a threat, Your finger was already pulling the slack. We didn't believe in destiny or the Force, Just the smell of ozone and watching our back. [Chorus] But I felt the shift in your pulse over time, The way you started looking at the dark. You used to shoot first and ask the dead later, Leaving nothing behind but a scorch mark. My only fear was the day you'd grow a conscience, The day you'd pause, let the moment slip— When you'd trust in some invisible magic, Instead of the cold, hard fact at your hip. [Verse 2] I am a modified heavy, stripped of my sights, Running too hot on a spliced power cell. I kept you breathing through the smuggling runs, I was the only logic you knew how to spell. But then came the kid and the wizard in robes, And the medals they hung around your neck. I slept in the leather, feeling your grip loosen, Watching the survivor turn into a wreck. You started to hope. That’s a dangerous game For a man with a bounty attached to his name. [Chorus] And I felt the shift in your pulse over time, The way you started looking at the dark. You used to shoot first and ask the dead later, Leaving nothing behind but a scorch mark. My only fear was the day you'd grow a conscience, The day you'd pause, let the moment slip— When you'd trust in some invisible magic, Instead of the cold, hard fact at your hip. [Bridge] They argue out there about who pulled the trigger, Who fired first under the cantina table. But I know the truth of your nervous system, We were a reflex before we were a fable. You never waited to see if they'd talk. You never gambled on someone else's grace. But now your hand hovers on the walkway, Looking at the shadow on your own kid's face. [Outro] I'm running hot. I'm ready to speak. But you're letting me sleep. I was the good thing at your side. Why are you waiting? Don't trust the magic.