[Intro – Soft Brush Drums & Muted Trumpet] (0:00–0:18) Once a year, when October touches November, they light the lanterns and walk the old quarter… remembering everyone who ever danced here. [Verse 1] (0:18–0:52) They gather at the fountain square, paper lanterns in the air, each one lit for someone gone, each one humming their favorite song. A little girl holds Grandpa's light, bright orange burning through the night, she never met him, but she knows he loved the trumpet and the rose. [Pre-Chorus] (0:52–1:08) And as they walk the cobbled lane, the music rises like soft rain, a marching band of memory, playing what we used to be. [Chorus] (1:08–1:40) Lantern parade, we carry the glow, of everyone who loved us so, through the streets the music weaves, a golden thread of old believes. Lantern parade, we walk as one, from the moonrise to the sun, every light a life, a song, we are where they all belong. [Verse 2] (1:40–2:12) A woman holds a lantern blue, she whispers, "This one is for you, my sister with the velvet voice, who made the saxophone rejoice." Behind her walks a man in grey, his lantern red for yesterday, "For my father and his bass guitar, who played me lullabies from afar." [Pre-Chorus] (2:12–2:28) And every lantern joins the stream, a river made of light and dream, the old quarter begins to sway, the ghosts come out and start to play. [Chorus] (2:28–2:58) Lantern parade, we carry the glow, of everyone who loved us so, through the streets the music weaves, a golden thread that never leaves. Lantern parade, we walk as one, from the evening to the dawn, every light a life, a tune, swaying underneath the moon. [Bridge – Trumpet & Sax Duet / Angelic Harmonies] (2:58–3:30) (Full layered harmonies, warm and sweeping) Ooh-ooh… ahh-ahh… Ooh-ooh… ahh-ahh… (Spoken tenderly) At the end of the parade, they release the lanterns to the sky, and for one perfect moment, the stars have company. [Verse 3] (3:30–3:58) The little girl looks up and waves, at Grandpa's light beyond the haze, she says, "I hope they play you jazz wherever all the good souls has." Her mother laughs and holds her tight, "They do, my love, they do tonight," and in the sky, a trumpet sounds, as every lantern homeward bounds. [Final Chorus] (3:58–4:32) Lantern parade, we carry the flame, of every love we cannot name, through the streets the music stays, long after the lantern fades. Lantern parade, now lift them high, a thousand songs across the sky, every light will find its way, we are the lantern parade. [Outro – Solo Muted Trumpet fading skyward] (4:32–4:50) (Whispered) Look up… they're still glowing. They always will.
