[Intro: whispered layered voices, distant sirens, low strings] Seventy-eight minutes… Count every second. Count every breath. Walls don’t make heroes. Badges don’t erase regret. [Verse 1: eerie melodic vocal, tense guitar pulse] The alarms were screaming, the radios cried, Innocent souls were trapped inside. You learned the rules, rehearsed the call, Then fear took hold in the schoolhouse hall. Boots on the tile, weapons in hand, Waiting for orders, afraid to stand. Every second carved into stone, While desperate voices called alone. [Pre-Chorus: frantic chanting, rising drums] Move toward the fire! That’s what you were trained! Stop the attacker! But still you remained! Move toward the danger! That was the vow! Seventy-eight minutes— Where were you now? [Chorus: massive harmonies, screamed backing vocals] Cowards behind walls! Hiding from the call! A badge means nothing When you’re scared to risk it all! While innocent voices Cried out through the halls, Seventy-eight minutes— Cowards behind walls! [Verse 2: rapid theatrical delivery, stop-start rhythm] Imagine wasting all that time, Nine to eighteen months in line, Just to wear the shield and name, Then freeze beneath the weight of shame. Checking every doorway, waiting for command, Weapons in your grip, fear inside your hands. Protect and serve became a mask, When saving lives was your only task! [Pre-Chorus 2: frantic group chant] Move toward the fire! Move through the pain! Stop the attacker! But still you remained! All of that training! All of that pride! What did it mean When courage died? [Break: stop-start riffs, shouted vocals] WAIT! WAIT! WAIT SOME MORE! What was all that training for? TICK! TOCK! LIVES WERE LOST! Who was left to pay the cost? WAIT! WAIT! HOLD THE LINE! Seventy-eight minutes lost to time! [Chorus: screamed lead with operatic backing] Cowards behind walls! Hiding from the call! A badge means nothing When you’re scared to risk it all! While innocent voices Cried out through the halls, Seventy-eight minutes— Cowards behind walls! [Bridge: mournful Middle Eastern folk melody, soft choir] Twenty-one lights now burn against the night, Twenty-one reasons you were supposed to fight. You cannot come back from that. You cannot rewrite the past. [Quiet vocal: fragile, almost spoken] And when you close your eyes, I hope you feel the weight Of every soul You did not protect. [Build: whispered voices stacking] Count every second… Count every breath… Count every promise… Left behind in death… [Breakdown: explosive half-time, heavy guitars] Your safety came first! Their lives came last! Now every silent second Is a shadow from the past! No medal! No speech! No uniform can hide The truth of what you chose While the innocent died! [Final Chorus: full choir, screamed lead, huge drums] Cowards behind walls! Hiding from the call! You swore that you would protect them all! But when the moment came, You abandoned that cause— Seventy-eight minutes! Cowards behind walls! Cowards behind walls! You heard the desperate calls! Seventy-eight minutes! Cowards behind walls! [Outro: instruments collapse, whispered layered voices] Count every second… Remember every soul… The walls are still standing… But your honor is gone.
