The Reckoning (Feat. Ghost)

[Intro: Immediate Drop A riff, distorted banjo, bass and pounding drums. Short instrumental.] [Verse 1: JACK. Gritty aggressive midrange rock singing, controlled accusation. No rap.] We saw the cracks and called them nothing Heard the warnings, kept on running Every excuse bought another day Every hard truth got pushed away We watched it happen, stood aside Found a hundred reasons to justify Nobody wanted to make a stand Now we're staring at what got out of hand Every warning dismissed, every witness ignored Every promise of change got lost in the noise We knew what was wrong, knew what had to be done But nobody moved till the damage was done [Pre-Chorus: JACK. Forceful gritty singing, guitars rising.] You saw it coming You knew damn well You kept pretending Till everything fell [Chorus: JACK. Explosive fully sung hard rock, massive drums, raspy sustained notes.] THIS IS THE RECKONING Now the bill comes due Every choice we made Every truth we knew THIS IS THE RECKONING No one gets to walk away We had a thousand chances Now there's hell to pay [Verse 2A: JACK. Aggressive rhythmic rock singing, bitter and relentless.] Everybody's got somebody to blame Different excuses, the same old game We point our fingers, defend our pride Anything to keep from looking inside We wanted answers without the cost Wanted change without taking the loss Sat on our hands while the damage grew Now tell me what the hell we're supposed to do [Verse 2B: GHOST ONLY. Distinct second male voice, powerful melodic rock singing. Tight rhythmic phrasing grows into soaring gritty notes. No rap.] Pass the blame, change the name, let somebody take the fall Everybody's got an opinion till they're standing at the wall Quick to criticize, quick to justify, quick to look away But the choices that we made are coming back around today [Pre-Chorus: JACK returns. Gritty melodic singing, guitars surge.] You saw it coming You knew damn well You kept pretending Till everything fell [Chorus: JACK. Massive fully sung hard rock, crushing guitars and pounding drums.] THIS IS THE RECKONING Now the bill comes due Every choice we made Every truth we knew THIS IS THE RECKONING No one gets to walk away We had a thousand chances Now there's hell to pay [Instrumental Break: Vicious syncopated Drop A riff, distorted banjo, industrial percussion.] [Bridge: JACK. Controlled accusatory gritty singing, build steadily, never drop.] Don't tell me nobody warned you Don't tell me you couldn't see Don't tell me somebody else Should've been what you refused to be We made the choices We let it stand And every time we looked away We gave it another helping hand [Bridge Rise: GHOST ONLY. Powerful soaring melodic rock singing, increasing intensity and grit. No rap.] You had the facts, had the chance, had the time to intervene But you turned another blind eye to everything you'd seen Now the damage is done and the excuses don't apply You can point at everybody but you can't deny the why [Build: JACK returns. Furious rhythmic rock singing, crushing guitars and double kick. Final line shouted.] You knew the cost, you knew the stakes You watched it happen, you made mistakes No more excuses, no more delay YOU KNEW DAMN WELL AND LOOKED AWAY! [Final Chorus: JACK. Full band explosion, biggest raspy sustained belts.] THIS IS THE RECKONING Now the bill comes due Every choice we made Every truth we knew THIS IS THE RECKONING No one gets to walk away We had a thousand chances Now there's hell to pay [Final Chorus Extension: JACK. Maximum power, fierce melodic singing.] THIS IS THE RECKONING And there's nowhere left to hide You can blame the whole damn world But you know what you did inside [Outro: JACK. Cold restrained gritty singing, brief silence before last line, hard stop.] We saw it coming We let it happen Now we live with it. [End]