Cement Prayers

[Intro]
Crowd shouting my name
But they don’t know the weight
Concrete on my chest
Still I step through the gate (yeah)
[Verse 1]
Eyes red, I ain’t slept in a week
Dreams heavy, they keep dragging my feet
Mum praying, says I’m lost in the streets
I just hug her, hide the blood on my sleeve
Cold hands in a warm car, late
Three knives and a postcode hate
Boys laugh but the fear sits deep
Every joke’s just a mask on grief
[Chorus]
These are my cement prayers
Dark roads, I grew up there
Crowd chant, but they don’t care
Still I raise my hands in the poisoned air
Cement prayers, I’m talking to the night
If I vanish, will you hold me in the light?
Hear my name when the echo disappears
(Cement prayers) shouted through the years
[Verse 2]
Lost mates on a Tuesday run
Funeral suit that I never returned
Church seats, but my heart in the rain
Black tie, but the tears leave stains
Phone buzz, “bro, you next if you talk”
Silence tastes like chalk on my tongue
I got rage in my ribs like a drum
But I’m tired of becoming what I run from
[Bridge]
[Crowd chant low, call-and-response]
“Cement prayers” (cement prayers)
“Dark stairs” (dark stairs)
We climb, we fall
No saints, just scars we share
[Chorus]
These are my cement prayers
Dark roads, I grew up there
Crowd chant, but they don’t care
Still I raise my hands in the poisoned air
Cement prayers, I’m talking to the night
If I vanish, will you hold me in the light?
Hear my name when the echo disappears
(Cement prayers) shouted through the years

rap, Dark UK drill beat with detuned, mournful piano and distant choir pads. Male vocals, close and confessional on the verses; hooks soaked in long reverb and layered crowd chants on the title line. 808 glides and sharp hi-hats drive a slow, head-nod swing. Final hook widens with stacked harmonies and low chants, then cuts abruptly to leave the last word echoing., drill