[Intro - dry guitar riff, drums kick in on bar four]

[Verse 1 - half-spoken, sardonic, close mic]
Candy comes in a wrapper
Candy keeps a smile on file
Candy looks like Sunday morning
That's the price point, that's the style
Candy never asks you questions
Candy never says a name
Candy leaves before the sunrise
Candy's glad you came

[Pre-Chorus - bass climbing]
There's a menu, there's a market
There's a man who sets the rate
There's a schedule on a cell phone
Saying don't be late

[Chorus - full band, soaring and bitter]
Sweetness by the piece
A dollar a taste
Nourishing nothing
Nothing goes to waste
You can have the wrapper
You can have the shine
Everything is for sale here
Nothing here is mine

[Verse 2 - strips to bass and voice, rebuilding]
Candy's got a wardrobe of innocence
Hanging on a rented rack
Candy's got a checkout-line name
So nobody looks back
The sweeter the outside
The higher the fee
They pay to watch the good girl break
And the good girl was me

[Pre-Chorus]
There's a menu, there's a market
There's a man who counts the take
There's a girl up near the ceiling
Watching herself break

[Chorus]
Sweetness by the piece
A dollar a taste
Nourishing nothing
Nothing goes to waste
You can have the wrapper
You can have the shine
Everything is for sale here
Nothing here is mine

[Bridge - near silence, clean guitar, whispered]
Here's the joke nobody paid for
Here's the fine print on the bill
The sweet was never the costume
The sweet is what they couldn't kill
Nobody ever bought the girl
The girl was never priced
The girl was free the whole time
And free is never nice... or is it

[Final Chorus - layered harmonies, detonation]
Sweetness by the piece
A dollar a taste
They bought themselves a wrapper
And threw the gift away
You can keep the wrapper
You can keep the shine
The girl inside the paper
Was never on the line
Was never
Was never on the line

[Outro - band cuts, one ringing chord]
Candy comes in a wrapper
I came in a drawer