The Exit Sign (4)

Name: The Exit Sign (4)
Duration: 271 s
APWBD2000
0 plays·0 likes·4:31
Prompt / Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Forty years of climbing, forty years of war,
Tell me, what was I even fighting for?
I’ve got a mountain of silver and a river of gold,
But I’d trade it all for a story untold.
I’m the architect of shadows, the master of the street,
But the concrete is cold beneath my aching feet.
I want to wake up where the air doesn't taste like lead,
Where the ghosts of the fallen stay quiet in my head.

[Verse 2]
I see the silver in my hair, the iron in my eyes,
A man who’s grown weary of his own clever lies.
I want a porch, a garden, the sound of the sea,
I want to remember what it’s like to be... just "me".
Not "The Boss", not "The Lion", not the "Dealer of Fate",
Just a man who can walk through an open gate.

[Chorus]
[The music swells, the cello is joined by a soaring orchestra]
But I’m looking for the exit sign in a room with no doors,
I’m tired of the bodies on the counting-house floors!
I want to wash the salt and the blood from my skin,
To find a new life where the old one thin.
Every time I reach for the handle of the gate,
The world pulls me back with the anchor of hate.
Where is the door? Where is the light?
Give me the morning... and take back the night!

[Bridge]
[The tempo increases, his voice becomes more desperate, a classic Broadway "belt"]
They say you can’t leave once you’ve taken the vow,
But I’ve paid every debt, and I’ve paid them all now!
I’ve protected the weak! I’ve held back the tide!
Is there no place on earth where a giant can hide?
If I stay, I will wither. If I stay, I will break.
How much more of my soul are they planning to take?!

[A powerful, sustained high note]
LET ME GO!

[Guitar/Orchestral Climax]
[The music reaches a peak of frustration and longing, then suddenly drops to a whisper.]

[Final Chorus]
[Softly, with deep emotion]
I’m still looking for the exit sign in a room with no doors,
No more "Honor", no "Duty", no more "City is Yours".
I want to sit in the sun, watch the waves hit the sand,
With no blood on my sleeve and no gun in my hand.
But the anchor is heavy... and the chains are so tight...
The King of the City... is staying the night.

[Outro]
[The ticking of a clock becomes audible in the silence.]
Just a little more time.
Just a few more debts to pay.
Then I’ll find the door...
And I’ll walk away.