Barium

Lyrics

They hand you the cup. It’s thick, and it’s white. They tell you to drink it all down. Don't worry, they say. I’m just here to help them see. They called me 'heavy' back in Sweden. Baryte. Carl Scheele found me in the heavy spar in 1774. He couldn't get me alone. It took Sir Humphry Davy, London, 1808, and a jolt of his new lightning to peel the oxygen away. To see the pale silver underneath. Too hungry for the air. Too quick to fight. But in this form, I'm a perfect guest. Barium Sulfate. The polite ghost. I coat your throat, I line your gut. I will not cross the wall. I just hold still and glow for the camera. A map of your own darkness. Drink me down. I'm on a leash. My other cousins... they are not so tame. The carbonate they leave out for the rats. The nitrate that burns green on the fifth of July. A different salt, a different story. All that stands between the cure and the coffin is a single, stubborn bond. A promise I was made to keep. For now. In this form, I'm a perfect guest. Barium Sulfate. The polite ghost. I coat your throat, I line your gut. I will not cross the wall. I just hold still and glow for the camera. A map of your own darkness. Drink me down. I'm on a leash. Walter Cannon had the idea. To see the river moving in the dark. And now you lie so still. You hold your breath. And inside you, I am a river of white light. I show them every shadow, every narrow place. They would never see you without me. They would never see inside. The picture is taken. My work is done. I'll pass on through. Remember the taste of chalk. Remember how still you had to be. Remember the difference between a guest... and an invader. It's only a leash.