Shake It Off The Dust

[Intro]
[violin crying softly
Slow rubato]
[breath in the room]
[Verse 1]
Ash in my coffee
Cold in my bones
Jacket on a nail
Rooms full of ghosts
Bills on the table
Names I don't say
Talking to the ceiling
It looks away
[Chorus]
But I shake it off the dust
From these tired shoes
If this heart still hurts
It can still be used
I was down so far
I could taste the rust
Now I rise
Not clean
But I rise enough
(yeah I rise enough)
[Verse 2]
Mirror in the hallway
Won't meet my eyes
Beard gone to silver
Hands gone to lines
But there's bread in the oven
Smoke in the flue
Neighbor's kid is laughing
Leaking through
[Chorus]
So I shake it off the dust
From these tired shoes
If this heart still hurts
It can still be used
I was down so far
I could taste the rust
Now I rise
Not clean
But I rise enough
(oh I rise enough)
[Bridge]
I bless the loss that spared me
I bless the nights I cracked
I kiss the hurt that dared me
To take my own self back
[Chorus]
And I shake it off the dust
From these tired shoes
If this heart still hurts
It can still be used
I was down so far
I could taste the rust
Now I rise
Not clean
But I rise enough
I was down so low
Now I stand
I trust
I will break again
But I'll rise enough
(yeah I'll rise enough)

Sparse, haunted folk arrangement: solo violin weeping in free time, then settling into a slow, minor-key waltz on nylon-string guitar and upright bass. Male vocals in a gravelly, Leonard Cohen–style baritone, close-miked, almost spoken at first, gaining tremble and intensity as the story turns hopeful. Subtle organ pad blooms in the chorus, light brushed snare enters on the second pass to lift the energy. Final section strips back to violin and voice, a fragile but steady resolve., vocal, violin, sad, low