[Key: G 92 bpm acoustic / post-hardcore / summer]
[Setup: one acoustic, one vocalist doing clean + screams]
[Intro – soft fingerpicking]
Sun on my skin, dust in the air
Windows down, no weight to bear
[Verse 1 – clean, light]
[G] Woke up with the world [Em] wide open
[C] Breeze through the curtains, [D] song in my head
[G] Coffee on the porch, [Em] barefoot laughing
[C] No ghosts whispering [D] under the bed
[G] Phone on silent in [Em] the kitchen drawer
[C] I am not available [D] to my old fear
[G] Street feels golden, [Em] bike wheels humming
[C] Every turn says “you [D] made it here”
[Pre-Chorus – build]
[Clean] And I can feel my lungs fill up
With more than just surviving
[Chorus – full strum, clean + scream]
[Clean]
This is what it feels like when the sun is on my side
[Scream]
WHEN THE SKY POURS BLUE AND I DO NOT NEED TO HIDE
[Clean]
All the years of doubt just melt like ice in July
[Scream]
I AM LAUGHING WITH MY FRIENDS AND I FINALLY FEEL ALIVE
[Turn – let chords ring]
[Verse 2 – clean, warm]
[G] Grass-stained sneakers, [Em] cheap park speakers
[C] Singing every chorus [D] way off key
[G] Chlorine and thunder [Em] of kids in the water
[C] Nobody cares who [D] we used to be
[G] Late night bonfire, [Em] sparks like meteors
[C] Stories we swore we [D] would never tell
[G] For once my voice is [Em] not apologizing
[C] Even my shadows [D] look well
[Pre-Chorus 2 – bigger build]
[Clean] And I can feel my heart keep time
With everything that is living
[Chorus – bigger, layered screams]
[Clean]
This is what it feels like when the sun is on my side
[Scream]
WHEN THE HEAVY YEARS LET GO AND FALL BEHIND
[Clean]
Hands up to the daylight, I do not need a sign
[Scream]
EVERY BREATH I TAKE TONIGHT SAYS I MADE IT OUT ALIVE
[Bridge – palm mute, then rise]
[Clean, soft]
I thought joy was for other people
I thought peace was a borrowed shirt
But here I am in this fading daylight
With no map, no script, no hurt
[Scream – over same chords, lifting]
I WILL HOLD THIS GOLDEN HOUR
LIKE A TATTOO ON MY SOUL
IF TOMORROW BRINGS BACK THUNDER
I STILL HAD THIS DAY TO HOLD
[Breakdown – percussive strums, shout-sing]
[Scream]
LET THE SUMMER AIR
FILL THESE EMPTY ROOMS
LET THE GOOD FRIENDS LAUGH
TILL THERE IS NO MORE GLOOM
[Final Chorus – half-time then push]
[Clean – first half, gentle]
This is what it feels like when the sun is on my side
Every scar I carry just glows in the light
[Clean + Scream – last lines, big]
[Clean]
If the dark comes back again, I will remember this sky
[Scream]
I WAS HERE, I WAS ALIVE, ON A PERFECT SUMMER NIGHT
[Outro – soft picking, humming]
[Clean, hum then whisper]
On a perfect summer night
I was more than just surviving
DCBROOKS2
