About this song
Before he was the Father of Machines, Yawgmoth was a doctor. This is the cold sermon of the Thran physician who decided flesh was a disease and metal was the cure — and called every horror he made an act of mercy.
Lyrics
[Intro] [Verse 1] Lie back. Breathe slow. The lamps are warm and low. There is nothing here to fear that I don't already know. Above us, Halcyon shines — her towers white as bone; down here in the caves I keep the ones the light disowned. The flesh you wear is failing. It was always going to fail. Hush now — I have read your every vein, your every wail. [Pre-Chorus] They called it healing once, before they learned my name. I cut a little deeper, and the screaming sounds the same. [Chorus] Hold still. This is mercy. Let the metal take the rot. I will give you what you prayed for; I will give you what you're not. Flesh is just a sickness, child — and oil is the cure. Call it cruelty if you must, but I will make you sure. [Verse 2] Your husband's lungs are stone now; I could lift the weight away — but a dying man is useful, so I let him waste and pray. I drink the spark he's leaking. I hold his wife's pale hand. I whisper that I'm trying. She will never understand. Each breath I leave him owing buys another year of trust, and trust is just a doorway, and I walk through where I must. [Pre-Chorus] I sowed a coughing winter; I called it kindness too. The plague was never punishment — it's only what I do. [Chorus] Hold still. This is mercy. Let the metal take the rot. I will give you what you prayed for; I will give you what you're not. Flesh is just a sickness, child — and oil is the cure. Call it cruelty if you must, but I will make you sure. [Bridge] She turned the two stones in the lock and sealed me in the dark. No light, no air, no Halcyon — just me, and my own work. And here, where no god watched me, I became the only one, the father of the engines, the patient, perfect sun. [Bridge build] So let the door close on me. Let the screaming caves go cold. I have all the time there is, and a world of flesh to mold. [Final Chorus] Hold still. This is mercy. Let the metal take the rot. I will give you what you prayed for; I will give you what you're not. Flesh is just a sickness, child — and oil is the cure. You will thank me when you're perfect. You will thank me when you're sure. Lie back. Breathe slow. There's nothing left to save — I am the kindest doctor on the long road to the grave. [Outro] Hush now. The surgery is done.
