Sanctuary

I am the tower, I'm the steady stone

(Sanctuary, sanctuary, sanctuary, sanctuary and silence please)

The one you call when you are all alone

I am the anchor in a hurricane..

(Sanctuary, sanctuary, sanctuary, sanctuary ,and silence please)

I'm the one who stands out in the rain...

(Verse 2)

I wear the armor, keep the shield up high

I swallow back the question, "Why?"

The sirens wail a bitter lulaby

am the anchor in a hurricane..

(Sanctuary, sanctuary, sanctuary, sanctuary ,and silence please)

And all the broken people pass me by...

(Pre-Chorus)

am the anchor in a hurricane..

(Sanctuary, sanctuary, sanctuary, sanctuary ,and silence please)

But the steel is getting heavy

And the shield is full of dents

This solid ground is starting to feel

Like a hollow pretense

am the anchor in a hurricane..

(Sanctuary, sanctuary, sanctuary, sanctuary ,and silence please)

And a voice inside the chaos

Is the only thing that's clear

Begging for the one thing I can't find here...

(ABSOLUTE SILENCE for two long beats)

(Vocals return. A raw, close-mic'd, harmonic whisper)

...can you please give me my peace...

...Lord, I need...

(Pause. Silence.)

(The first call. Primordial, beckoning, sung with an open throat, holding the note, full of "rapture")

..... SANCTUARY.....

(As the word ends, a swelling ambient build crashes in—deep strings, ethereal synths, a sound like a cathedral opening up.)

(Over the top of the swell, a higher, soaring harmony)

Ohhhhhh......

(The second call, more demanding, cutting through the ambient swell)

SANCTUARY..............

(The swell and the vocal cut off instantly.)

(SILENCE. Empty space. Waiting for the answer.)

(A third call, starting from nothing, building to an extra long, breaking note. This one is pure desperation.)

SANCTUARY........................

(The note hangs, then fades. The silence returns, but now it's filled with a soft, ambient drone.)

(Outro Whispers)

(Fading in and out, like echoes in the mind)

Sanctuary...

(...a breath...)

Sanctuary...

(...a final, held-out whisper that fades to nothing...)

... SANCTUARYEEEEEEEER YEAAAH!