This song owes a debt to Leonard Cohen's "Anthem" which contains the lines "There is a crack, a crack in everything / That's how the light gets in" which I believe is a reference to Rumi's line "The wound is the place where the Light enters you."
It owes an even larger debt to the Black spiritual "When The Saints Go Marching In" whose chord progression and melody are used in the chorus here and whose apocalyptic optimism I hope I have done justice to.
lyrics
Up on the roof
I look out at the world
With my head in the clouds
No mountain today
The sun's behind haze
And I can't see the Sound
I heard that the hills are on fire
And we might not live to see tomorrow
Cuz the smoke is rolling in
And when the smoke comes rolling in
Will you stand with me through thick and thin
To make the crack where light gets in
When the smoke comes rolling in
Instinct is telling me
Cover my face
And get lost in the crowd
The snap, crackle, pop
Drives me back to the roof
Where I still hear the sounds
It looks like the precinct's on fire
And they might not live to see tomorrow
Cuz the smoke is rolling in
And when the smoke comes rolling in
Will you stand with me through thick and thin
To make the crack where light gets in
When the smoke comes rolling in
Inside my house
I retreat from the world
With a head full of doubt
No smiling today
My mind's in a haze
I am feeling unsound
My body feels like it's on fire
And I might not live to see tomorrow
Cuz the smoke is rolling in
And when the smoke comes rolling in
I will stand with you through thick and thin
To make the crack where light gets in
When the smoke comes rolling in
And when the smoke comes rolling in
We will fight through thick and thin
Oh we will be the crack where light gets in
When the smoke comes rolling in
credits
from Comes Apart,
released January 6, 2023
Guitar: Mo Ouyang