Chained bird - remix

[INTRO, sparse, open, a single note like wind through a high place] Left at the short house Right at the tall one Simple landmarks In a familiar sky

[VERSE, gentle, grounded, getting straight to the chain] It used to be so easy Before the pull A tension I couldn't quite name Always there I kept flying anyway Discouraged But moving

[PRE-CHORUS, false liberation arriving, breathless and wide] One day I didn't feel it The tension was gone I soared high above the clouds Thinking I must be free

[CHORUS, drop, open and soaring but with weight underneath] But the weight came back Expanded, not resolved The chain is still there Measuring every mile Of how far I've come Chained bird in flight Still flying Still flying

[VERSE, disorientation, wry exhaustion, acclimating to the altitude] I've forgotten my old map Too much fuss About where I've been I must acclimate To this altitude Unsteady between One sky and another Too high to read the landmarks Not high enough to feel free Looking down I start to see it differently The short house The tall one Specks now I can barely tell them apart

[PRE-CHORUS, paradox arriving, emotional climax before the prayer] The very thing binding me Has been counting every mile I don't know whether to grieve it Or be grateful [breath] Both

[CHORUS, drop, open and soaring but with weight underneath] But the weight came back Expanded, not resolved The chain is still there Measuring every mile Of how far I've come Chained bird in flight Still flying Still flying

[BRIDGE, everything drops away, just the prayer, bare and honest] Please Whatever holds me Help me soar With my eyes up Light enough To carry this chain [breath] I can see how far I've come And I am still not free And I am still flying And that is enough

[CHORUS, full drop, bittersweet and luminous, chain and sky held together] The weight is still there Expanded, not resolved And I can hold that now The chain still measures Every mile Of how far I've come Chained bird in flight Flying anyway Flying anyway

[OUTRO, wind returns, sparse and open, prayer answered with direction not resolution] Left at the short house Right at the tall one Specks below Eyes up now Trust the direction Not the distance Still flying