A January To Cheer
single
A January To Cheer
4Castle has been circling political dread for a while, but this is the first time they’ve aimed the lens this directly at a specific kind of power, and the restraint makes it hit harder than a screed would. The verses build their case with dry economy: ‘He only sleeps by mistake,’ ‘the deep end’s dry, the tiles are cold,’ images that feel absurdist and precise at the same time, the way good political writing does when it trusts the audience. The chorus lands in E major at a brisk 136 BPM, the harmony vocals opening up the room right when the lyric needs the feeling of collective exhalation, and the Hammond on rotary pushes it into something that recalls late-period Traffic or the more purposeful end of prog-rock civics. The spoken interlude, a quietly mumbling figure congratulating himself on being ‘better than that,’ is the sharpest move on the track, unsettling precisely because it sounds bored and sincere rather than theatrical. The final chorus earns its single-word substitution: ‘rage goes quiet,’ ‘stood their ground,’ traffic instead of shouting, ordinary life returned. That pivot is the whole argument, and 4Castle makes it without flinching.
Lyrics
There's a mad man in the people's house There's a mad man in the people's house He has the key. He's past the gate He only sleeps by mistake Cannot keep the mad man in the house
There's a mad man in a broken pool There's a mad man in a broken pool He doesn't swim. He won't be told The deep end's dry. The tiles are cold Cannot keep the mad man in the house
And when his rage comes thundering through the halls And the minders on the hill have gone to ground And the shouting is the only thing we hear Some day there'll be a January to cheer
There's a mad man in the cabinet room There's a mad man in the cabinet room He wants a yes. He wants it now One by one they learn to bow Cannot keep the mad man in the house
And when his rage comes thundering through the halls And the minders on the hill have gone to ground And the shouting is the only thing we hear Some day there'll be a January to cheer
We watched the doors swing open We watched the guards step aside We watched the decent people Find somewhere safe to hide But every house has windows And every lock can turn
And when his rage comes thundering through the halls And the minders on the hill have gone to ground And the shouting is the only thing we hear Some day there'll be a January to cheer
I think I’m really, if you think about it… The best ever I mean the best that ever lived Maybe even better than that I really do…
And when his rage goes quiet in the halls And the minders on the hill have stood their ground And the traffic is the only thing we hear That day will be a January to cheer
That day will be a January to cheer