Below Zero by Jewel

[Intro – subway brake SFX, radio chatter, boots on concrete] [Verse 1] They built the city up, forgot what held the weight, I’m in the tunnels with the ones they wouldn’t rate. Harmonia crowned me but my throne’s made of pipes, I don’t rule from above, I bleed with my types. Jade Bureaucracy counts coins, Gem saves the past, I save the kid who didn’t eat, make sure that’s his last. South says I’m too loud, East says I’m too steel, Aida taught me listen first, Taida taught me how to feel. [Pre-Chorus – beat drops out, only heartbeat and drip] You want a hero with clean hands? Keep looking up. [Chorus – 808s hit like trains, vocal doubles stack] I run Below Zero, where the sun never comes, but we got heartbeats here, louder than drums. I’m not your queen, I’m your barricade, I take the hit so your peace gets made. Call me cold, but my engine’s trust, I’m the spark in the dark, I’m the bulletproof rust. Below Zero, that’s where I stay, so you can live in the light of day. [Verse 2 – piano enters, brittle] Nova floats over my head when the raids get bad, cloud like a nightlight for the kids we never had. Loreli sends dancers down to teach them how to sway, even war needs beauty or the soul decays. Taida pings me from the servers, "Rail three is clear", says it like a prayer, says it so I don’t fear. I don’t sleep much, I sleep loaded, but I dream of a South where no child’s coded. [Bridge – all instruments cut except distant harmonica from Main Floor] (Aida’s voice on radio): Jewel, status? Jewel (spoken): We’re holding, Harmony. (Train roars back in) [Final Chorus – add sister harmonies under her] I run Below Zero, where the sun never comes, with my sisters in my ears, I’m never numb. Not your queen, I’m your barricade, I take the hit so your peace gets made. I’m the spark in the dark, the bulletproof rust, Below Zero, in all of us. [Outro – radio click, boots walking away] Jewel: South is secure. Tell the house I’m coming up for dinner.