(Intro — soft piano / distant crowd noise fading away)
The lights are gone now…
Just us and the silence.
(Verse 1)
Smoke still hanging in the air
Broken bottles everywhere
Echoes of the songs we screamed
Still shaking underneath the streets
Your old hoodie on my floor
Keys hanging by the door
Funny how the quiet hits
After chaos finally quits
(Pre-Chorus)
We spent so long surviving the storm
We forgot what comes after war
(Chorus)
What are we after the riot?
When the noise finally dies
When the crowds all disappear
And it’s just us with our minds
Can we still carry the fire
Without burning ourselves alive?
Maybe healing starts tonight
After the riot
(Verse 2)
Bruised knuckles and tired eyes
Growing older by surprise
Every scar a photograph
Of nights we barely made it back
Some names faded with the years
Some still live inside my ears
But every soul that walked beside me
Left a light somewhere inside me
(Pre-Chorus)
And maybe surviving wasn’t the end
Maybe it’s where we begin again
(Chorus)
What are we after the riot?
When the silence gets loud
When there’s nobody left to save us
And no music in the crowd
Can we still hold onto hope
When the darkness feels endless inside?
Maybe healing starts tonight
After the riot
(Bridge — emotional build)
We were never meant to carry this alone
Every shattered heart deserved a home
And even if the world forgets our names
The songs remain
(Breakdown — slow, massive)
FOR EVERY NIGHT WE THOUGHT WE’D LOSE
FOR EVERY TIME WE HAD NOTHING LEFT TO PROVE
WE ARE STILL HERE
WE ARE STILL ALIVE
(Final Chorus — huge and emotional)
What are we after the riot?
We are survivors of the sound
The broken kids who found each other
When the whole world let us down
Now the smoke clears from the skyline
And the sunrise finally arrives
Maybe this is what it means
To truly stay alive
(Outro — quiet guitar and distant city ambience)
No more sirens…
No more running…
Just morning light…
After the riot.
CathedralsInRuin