By the Grace I’m Standing 3

[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

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

Right here

By the grace

I’m standing

[saxophon

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][saxophone]

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)