The View From Here

(Starts with a low, pulsing bass note and a soft, rhythmic shaker. After 4 bars, a solo acoustic guitar begins a repetitive, circular finger-picking pattern. A lonesome electric guitar swells in the background like wind.)

(Spoken/Whispered Intro Lyrics)

"Leave the map behind...

We're past the lines they drew.

Just look up.

Just look how far we've come."

(Acoustic guitar and bass only. Very intimate.)

We started with a compass and a broken map

Chasing shadows through the gaps

I remember the dust and the heat on the road

Carrying everything, a heavy load

But the air is getting thin up here

And the silence is the only thing I hear.

(Drums enter with a slow, heartbeat-like kick drum. Harmonies swell.)

Ooohhh ooohh look where we are

From where I stand, it seems like we reached to the end

The stars are low enough to touch

But maybe we’re asking for too much

Ooohhh ooohh look where we are.

(The full band settles into a "groove." The snare drum is played with brushes for a textured, sandy feel.)

There’s no more trail, just a drop below

Nowhere left for us to go

We spent so long just trying to climb

That we forgot to watch the time

Now the sun is dipping past the ridge

And we’re standing on a broken bridge.

(The "Climax." The drums switch from brushes to sticks. This should feel urgent and heavy.)

Is the end a cliff or is it a door?

Are we finished, or just wanting more?

We could turn around, or we could just stay

And watch the colors fade to grey.

(Full cinematic explosion. Crashing cymbals and wide vocal harmonies.)

Ooohhh ooohh look where we are

From where I stand, it seems like we reached to the end

The stars are low enough to touch

But maybe we’re asking for too much

Ooohhh ooohh look where we are.

(The instruments drop out one by one, leaving only the acoustic guitar and a faint piano melody.)

Reached to the end...

Look where we are...

(Final piano note rings out and decays into silence)