By the Grace I’m Standing 2

[VINTAGE 60s SOUL PRODUCTION NOTES (NOT SUNG)

Band

• Live drums (loose pocket, brushes on verses)

• Upright bass

• Hammond B3 organ

• Electric guitar (clean, tremolo)

• Tambourine on chorus

• Group handclaps recorded in one room

Recording Style

• Mono or narrow stereo

• Tape saturation on drums & vocals

• Slight pitch warble, natural room reverb

• No heavy compression—let dynamics breathe

Vocals

• Single take feel

• Light grit on emotional lines

• Background vocals: 2–3 singers, unpolished, human]

Mmm… yeah…

⸻

VERSE 1

They said slow down, be realistic

Said that dream don’t fit my hands

Bills on the table, phone almost dead

Same coat, same winter again

I kept showing up tired

Learning how to breathe through doubt

Wasn’t loud about it

I was busy staying out

HOOK [Handclaps enter]

[acoustic guit

Right here

By the grace

I’m standing

⸻

CHORUS [Call & Response]

I’m still here (still here)

Didn’t fold, didn’t fade (no I didn’t)

Kept walking when nobody clapped (keep on walkin’)

I’m still here (still here)

All that talk didn’t land (no it didn’t)

Now they asking how I did that

I’m still here

⸻

VERSE 2

Some folks left when I stopped explaining

Late nights in a quiet room

Paper notes and a cold cup

Waiting on a little truth

Learned patience the hard way

Learned faith without proof

Every door felt heavy

Still I pushed my way through

HOOK [Handclaps + BGVs]

Right here (right here)

By the grace (by the grace)

I’m standing (standing)

⸻

CHORUS

I’m still here (still here)

Didn’t fold, didn’t fade

Kept walking when nobody clapped

I’m still here (still here)

All that talk didn’t land

Now they asking how I did that

I’m still here

⸻

BRIDGE 1 [Breakdown – Organ + Voice]

I heard every laugh

Every sideways look

I let it burn slow

Turned it into fuel

Didn’t say a word

Let time talk

⸻

VERSE 3

Now the room feel different

Same faces, softer tone

They say they always knew it

I just smile, let it go

I remember empty pockets

Second guessing late at night

I chose me when nobody did

That’s how I survived

HOOK ([Bigger Claps]

Right here

By the grace

I’m standing

⸻

CHORUS [Full Band In]

I’m still here (still here)

Didn’t fold, didn’t fade

Kept walking when nobody clapped

I’m still here (still here)

All that talk didn’t land

Now they asking how I did that

I’m still here

⸻

BRIDGE 2 [Gospel Lift]

I don’t need the crowd (no, no)

I don’t need the noise (no)

I trust the work (I trust it)

I trust the days

That kept adding up

⸻

FINAL CHORUS [Shout Section]

I’m still here (still here)

Didn’t fold, didn’t fade

Kept walking when nobody clapped

I’m still here (still here)

All that talk didn’t land

Now they asking how I did that

I’m still here

OUTRO [Tape Fade / Ad-libs]

Right here…

By the grace…

I’m standing…

(tape warble, room fades)