(Verse 1)
Thirty-seven winters in a tactical state
Learning every rule of a loaded game
Had to build a fortress out of brick and bone
When the ones who held the keys just brought the pain
A hyper-vigilant soldier in a child-sized coat
Holding off the tide with a tightening throat.
(Gravelly male vocals; minimal, rhythmic acoustic picking with heartbeat sub-bass)
(Pre-Chorus)
They thought I’d break in two
Didn't see the iron growing through
No one came to save me, held no line
So I drafted an army out of me and time.
(Tempo accelerates; percussive palm-mutes with heavy foot-stomp; vocals gain grit)
(Chorus)
I was forced to be an army, forced to bear the shield
Now the smoke is clearing on a battlefield
The war is finally over, the guns are laying down
I’m stepping off the ramparts, taking off the crown
No more fighting shadow, no more endless fight—
I’m the diplomat of my own peace tonight.
(Explosive hook; driving stadium-folk rhythm; soaring vocal belt & crowd harmonies)
(Verse 2)
High-functioning, lethal with a sharp-edged mind
Leaving every trap and double-standard behind
Used to demand full armor off the ones I met
While I kept my own locked behind an iron fence
But you don't need a bunker when the sky turns blue
And you don't need a weapon when the truth is you.
(Syncopated groove; close-mic’d conversational delivery with sharp cadence)
(Chorus)
I was forced to be an army, forced to bear the shield
Now the smoke is clearing on a battlefield
The war is finally over, the guns are laying down
I’m stepping off the ramparts, taking off the crown
No more fighting shadow, no more endless fight—
I’m the diplomat of my own peace tonight.
(Full anthemic wall-of-sound; soaring lead vocals over hypnotic folk-rock rhythm)
(Bridge)
Thank you to the bodyguard inside my head
Who kept the watch fires burning by my bed
You did your job, you got me through the night
Now put the steel away—we’re stepping into light.
(Thunderous breakdown; heavy floor-tom pulses; cathartic vocal peak)
(Outro)
Yeah, thirty-seven years... I survived the fears.
Now I sign the treaty. I open up the door.
I am my own refuge. I don't need the war.
(Acoustic guitar drops to single kick beat; vocals fade to intimate whisper)
Symmetry
