The Only Adult in the Room

((Intro))

((Clean delay guitar in 13/8))

((Instruments pull against one another rhythmically))

((Atmosphere of controlled confusion))

(Verse 1)

Everybody’s got a compass

Pointing somewhere they know

Twenty people pulling different ways

Wonder why the wheels fly off

Everybody wants a captain

Till the captain takes the wheel

Funny how convictions change

When the consequence is real

Every meeting ends in circles

Every answer split in two

Everybody wants a future

Nobody agrees what to do

So I started making decisions

Just to get us moving on

Funny how the room gets louder

When you’re not there to prove them wrong

(Pre-Chorus)

Somebody has to steer this thing

Somebody has to choose

Everybody loves the freedom

Till there’s something they might lose

((Rhythms begin aligning))

((Low synth drone emerges))

(Chorus)

I wasn’t chasing power

I was chasing results

Trying to keep the lights on

Trying to keep it standing

Call it confidence

Call it control

Call it whatever helps you sleep

I just got tired of watching

Good intentions stall the machine

((Massive half-time groove))

((Music feels more certain than the lyrics))

(Verse 2)

The rules became a bottleneck

The process slowed the flow

Every signature another stone

Tied around the throat

People called it compromise

I called it delay

Funny how the path gets clearer

When the obstacles give way

Every critic had a question

Every question took a year

Every year another problem

Everybody claimed to fear

So I stopped asking permission

Started acting when I knew

Funny how they called it power

They have everything to lose

(Pre-Chorus 2)

Somebody has to steer this thing

Somebody has to choose

Everybody loves an opinion

Till the burden belongs to you

(Chorus)

I wasn’t chasing power

I was chasing results

Trying to keep the lights on

Trying to keep it standing

Call it confidence

Call it control

Call it whatever helps you sleep

I just got tired of watching

Good intentions stall the machine

((Instruments increasingly unified))

((Subtle industrial percussion))

(Bridge)

((Drums and bass only))

((Mechanical repetition))

((Vocals nearly spoken))

They wanted every voice heard

Every voice

Every grievance

Every doubt

Every objection

Every delay

Every delay

Every delay

So tell me…

How many captains

Can a ship survive?

((Instrumental))

((Djent riff alternating 7/8 and 4/4))

((Brief silence))

(Final Chorus)

((Everything locked into rigid 4/4))

((The music has become the dictatorship))

I wasn’t chasing power

At least that’s what I said

Somewhere between the steering wheel

And the crown upon my head

The room got very quiet

The questions disappeared

And for the first time in my life

Everything went exactly how I wanted

(Outro)

((Opening guitar motif returns in simple 4/4))

((Final chord unresolved))

Everybody’s got a compass

Pointing somewhere they know

Funny thing about directions

There’s only one left now