Learning to Live

[vocals: Gritty untrained male vocal, whisper to controlled strained lift, emotional cracks, not explosive until final] [background-vocals: Soft harmonies growing into group vocals in final chorus] [instrumentation: driving acoustic guitar, restrained banjo texture, heavy drums in early verses, violin forward in builds and choruses, horns in final lift] [intro: Soft guitar, distant violin swell, hesitant vocal] (soft) Oh… Yeah… [verse: Uneasy, suspicious of peace, grounded] It’s been quiet for a couple days No shouting walls, no sudden breaks And I should feel some kind of relief But something in me don’t believe I keep waiting for it all to turn For the calm to crack, for the bridge to burn Like peace is just a borrowed breath And I’m one step from losing it [build: Light violin enters, tension, internal conflict] And I—I don’t know how to sit in still Yeah I—I don’t trust how this feels [chorus: First lift, restrained acceptance beginning] Hey… I know how to survive But I don’t know how to live this life Oh… am I allowed to feel alright Can I really end this fight And I—I don’t know the road back home Or how to walk it on my own But maybe I can learn to stay If it don’t all just fade away [verse: Deeper internal questioning, key lines] If everything is better now Why do I feel worse somehow Was I broken somewhere back then Past the point of healing again I’ve worn the weight so long it fits Like letting go would feel like this Like losing something I’ve become Like healing means I come undone [build: Stronger, drums + violin tension rising] Yeah I—I can feel it pulling me Yeah I—but I don’t move easily [chorus: Bigger, still conflicted but opening] Hey… I know how to survive But I don’t know how to live this life Oh… is it wrong to want some peace If I still carry all of me And I—I don’t know the road back home But I don’t have to walk alone Still maybe I can learn to stay Even if I’m not okay [bridge: Strip down, raw honesty, relational + spiritual support] (soft) Some days I can’t hold up my head Some nights I don’t leave my bed I’m not fixed… I’m not whole… I still feel it in my soul But you—you stayed when I fell apart You held the line when I lost heart And Lord… if you’re still listening… I still need you to help me stand… [break: Silence drop, breath moment] (soft) Maybe it’s alright… To not be alright yet… [aria-rise: Violin-led spiritual lift, voice opens] Ohhhhh— There’s a peace I don’t understand Like a light I can’t hold in my hands Ohhhhh— Through the doubt and the ache and the bend There’s a place I could learn to stand [chorus: FINAL — full lift, horns swell, partnership emphasized] HEY! I know I’m still learning to live With the weight and the wounds that I give OH! I don’t have to be whole tonight To be walking toward the light And I—I will lean when I fall I don’t have to carry it all No I—I can stay, I don’t have to run With you… I know I’m not undone [chorus: Extended, communal, violin + horns full] Hey… I know how to survive (Oh-oh-oh) maybe I can learn this life Yeah I—I will take it slow this time Let the broken parts realign With you… I will make it through Yeah I—I don’t have to fight alone I can find my way back home [spoken word: intimate, sincere, end message] You are so much stronger than you know… The battle is over… but you’re still in your own war… Olde Oak knows that feeling… We’re all gonna make it… nobody’s getting left behind… God bless… [outro: Horn-led instrumental, emotional resolution, fade out]