[Verse 1- just a solitary, beautifully fingerpicked acoustic guitar. It sounds warm but incredibly lonely. The vocals are a soft, breathy, defeated whisper.]
The coffee is cold, the curtains are drawn.
You’re staring right through me at the frost on the lawn.
I ask if you're hungry, you just softly hum,
Looking at your hands until your fingers go numb.
There are thirty-four pictures of us in the hall,
But today, you don't recognize the faces at all.
[Chorus 1- A mournful cello slowly bows beneath the acoustic guitar. The vocals gain a slight, trembling vibrato.]
I am holding onto the ghost of who you were.
Tracing the outline as the colors start to blur.
I am the anchor, buried deep in the sand,
But the tide is pulling you right out of my hand.
Just a fraction of an inch every day...
I am watching you wash away.
[Verse 2- The acoustic picking becomes slightly more frantic, a little harder on the strings. A soft, heartbeat-like thump on the body of the guitar acts as a kick drum. The vulnerability turns into a strained, pleading quiver.]
I brought you the sweater you wore when we wed.
You asked me politely to leave it on the bed.
You looked in my eyes with a polite, empty grace,
And asked for the name of the stranger in your space.
[Voice breaking]
I told you my name. I told you my name.
[interlude- the acoustic guitar strikes a dissonant, ugly chord and hangs there. The cello scrapes harshly against the strings. Total silence for three agonizing seconds.]
[Vocals: A dry, desperate whisper right against the mic.]
Please, please...
Please look at me.
Please look at me...
LOOK AT ME!
[Chorus 2- The track violently erupts. Absolute sonic devastation. Towering, heavily distorted Drop F# power chords crash alongside furious blast-beat drums. The contrast from the acoustic half is terrifying and overwhelming.]
I AM HOLDING ONTO THE GHOST OF WHO YOU were!
Watching THE memories BURN INTO THE blur!
I AM THE ANCHOR, BUT THE rope is SNAPPING thin!
AND THE water IS RUSHING IN!
THE water IS RUSHING IN!
[Verse 3- the blast beats morph into a frantic, driving metalcore groove. The guitars are dissonant, panicked, and fast.]
Piece BY piece!
BONE BY BONE!
I AM SITTING BESIDE YOU
BUT I’M DYING ALONE!
I’M SHAKING YOUR shoulders
I’M SCREAMING YOUR NAME!
BUT THE EYES LOOKING BACK
AREN'T THE FUCKING SAME!
COME BACK!
PLEASE GODS, JUST COME BACK!
THE SKY IS TURNING BLACK!
[The Breakdown- the tempo cuts in half. A disgustingly heavy, agonizingly slow djent riff drops in. China cymbals smash on every beat like breaking glass. The acoustic guitar from the beginning is buried deep in the mix, playing out of time, representing the broken memory.]
I CAN'T FIGHT THE EROSION!
I CAN'T FIGHT THE TIDE!
YOU ARE BREATHING RIGHT HERE!
BUT YOU'RE ALREADY DEAD INSIDE!
DEAD INSIDE
[Instrumental solo]
[Outro/Interlude- The heavy guitars abruptly cut out, back to acoustic tragedy and slow vibes]
Atlantica
