Villa Diodati

[Verse 1]
The lake went black in June
Clouds hung like wet stone
Lord Byron laughed too loud
While rain gnawed the windows
Polidori poured the night
Mary, keep your hands still
Claire leaned close to the pane
And Percy chased the chill
[Pre-Chorus]
We lit the lamp again
We fed the fire thin
Laudanum in the drawer
And a dare under my skin
Tell me what you fear
Tell me what you see
[Chorus]
The year without a summer
The year without a sun
We called the dark to dinner
And it came for everyone
The year without a summer
(hold me through the storm)
The year without a summer
And I was not the same no more
[Verse 2]
My page went pale and stayed
My pulse kept time with rain
Byron spoke of monsters
Like they knew him by name
Percy smiled at lightning
Claire sang to pass the smoke
Polidori watched me
As if I were a joke
[Pre-Chorus]
But I saw the poor thing move
In the flicker of the glass
A stitched-up kind of future
With a heart that wouldn’t last
Tell me what you fear
Tell me what you see
[Chorus]
The year without a summer
The year without a sun
We called the dark to dinner
And it came for everyone
The year without a summer
(hold me through the storm)
The year without a summer
And I was not the same no more
[Bridge]
I gave him bloodless breath
I gave him borrowed name
I heard the room go silent
As the thunder split the frame
If I can make a life
Then I can make a grief
If I can make a creature
Then I can make belief
[Final Chorus]
The year without a summer
The year without a sun
We called the dark to dinner
And it came for everyone
The year without a summer
(hold me through the storm)
The year without a summer
And I was not the same no more

Gothic folk-rock with a slow, swinging 6/8 pulse and stormy percussion, layered strings and low piano drones; verse stays intimate and close-mic with sparse acoustic plucks, pre-chorus adds bowed bass and tremolo guitar, chorus opens into stacked female harmonies and grim gang echoes. Reversed swells, thunder rolls, and glassy chimes bridge each section. Dark, wide, cinematic mix with a damp room feel and ghostly delay throws on key lines.