[Verse 1- Clean electric guitar with heavy reverb. No drums. The vocals are barely above a whisper, very intimate and dry.]
I counted the days by the rust on the door
I don’t know what I’m waiting here for
The light from the surface is starting to fade
I’m guarding the mess that we made.
You said you’d return when the weather was right
But I’ve been sitting in the dark for a lifetime of nights
And I’m starting to think that you’re not coming down
I’m starting to think that you want me to drown.
[Interlude- clean guitar continues a repetitive, hypnotic picking pattern. A synth pad swells underneath]
[Soft, breathy vocals]
The water is thicker than the air you breathe
I’m tracing the wake that you’re destined to leave
It’s quiet down here, where the light can’t reach
A thousand miles from your sun-bleached beach.
I’m heavy with hope, I’m heavy with salt
I know that the distance is nobody's fault...
[Voice cracks slightly]
But it’s freezing.
Fuck, it’s freezing.
[Chorus- Soft piano enters. Sub-bass hum. Vocals become melodic and soulful, but still restrained.]
So go on and breathe
Fill up your lungs with the air that I need
I’ll stay at the bottom, I’ll stay in the cold
Protecting a story that will never be told
You belong to the sky, you belong to the sun
My diving is over.
My dying is done.
[Verse 2- Drums enter—slow, spread out rim-clicks. Bass guitar plays high melodic notes. The mood is melancholic waltz.]
Do you think of me when you look at the sea?
Do you feel the pressure? Do you feel the gravity?
Or am I just a heavy thought you push to the back?
A silhouette painting the blue into black.
I’m not angry, I promise, I’m just tired of the weight
Of loving a ghost that I created.
[Chorus 2- Guitars turn on—heavy distortion but playing big, open chords. "Shoegaze" wall of sound. Vocals are powerful and belted.]
So go on and breathe!
Fill up your lungs with the air that I need!
I’ll stay at the bottom, I’ll stay in the cold
Protecting a story that will never be told!
You belong to the sky, you belong to the sun!
My diving is over!
My dying is done!
[Bridge- Music cuts to a single dissonant guitar note repeating. Vocals become desperate, spoken/screamed.]
I held my breath for you.
For years.
I held it.
And you didn't even notice.
You didn't even look down.
YOU DIDN'T EVEN LOOK DOWN!
[The Breakdown- Tempo slows even further. The tuning drops. This is the heaviest part of the song. Pure sludge/doom metal.]
I AM THE ANCHOR!
[SLOW, DISGUSTING BASS CHUG]
CUT! ME! LOOSE!
[SILENCE]
LET ME SINK!
[DISSONANT GUITAR SQUEAL]
FORGET MY NAME!
FORGET MY FACE!
LEAVE ME HERE IN THIS HOLLOW PLACE!
[Instrumental Outro- The heavy distortion abruptly cuts off. We return to a clean, delayed guitar loop. It sounds like being underwater, synth string section fades in slowly, The drums play a slow, marching beat that gradually fades away.]
[The song ends with 60 seconds of ambient ocean noise and feedback, slowly fading to absolute silence.]
Atlantica
