((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
ChucklesMcnerd
