[Intro — solo female voice, near a cappella, one soft piano chord, intimate and exposed] They turned the lights off while I was still singing [Verse 1 — soft controlled female vocal, restrained, piano and low 808 pulse only] Small room, small chair, small plans they made for me Said sing it sweet, sing it quiet, sing it barely Kept my name in fine print at the bottom of the bill So I learned to fill a stadium standing still [Pre-Chorus — voice climbing, strings and drums building underneath] You can dim it, you can drown it, you can lock the door — that's not what voices are for [Chorus — huge soul-diva belt with melisma, full drums slam in, stacked female harmonies behind her, anthemic locked hook] Encore! — I wasn't done You cut the sound, I became one Every note you tried to bury alive Came back louder, came back five Encore, encore — I wasn't done [Verse 2 — cold low female rap, slow and unbothered, icy precise delivery, beat stripped back] They booked her small. Interesting choice. Room for one ego — hers is the voice. I did the math on your little decision: Cut one mic. Woke up five women. Front row's yours. Enjoy the view. The encore's long. It outlasts you. [Pre-Chorus — voice climbing, strings and drums building underneath] You can dim it, you can drown it, you can lock the door — that's not what voices are for [Chorus — huge soul-diva belt with melisma, full drums slam in, stacked female harmonies behind her, anthemic locked hook] Encore! — I wasn't done You cut the sound, I became one Every note you tried to bury alive Came back louder, came back five Encore, encore — I wasn't done [Bridge — weathered bluesy female rasp, slow and raw over slide guitar, then silky breathy voice answers her line for line] I sang in rooms where nobody clapped at all Now listen to the walls — they remember, they recall (they remember... they recall) [Final Chorus — fullest arrangement, diva belt ad-libbing above the stacked hook, key lifting, held note at the peak] Encore! — I wasn't done You cut the sound, I became one Every note you tried to bury alive Came back louder, came back five Encore, encore — I wasn't done [Post-Chorus — all five voices chanting over full groove, crowd-style gang vocals, harmonies swelling] One more, one more — say it again Five names singing, no end, no end One more, one more — the lights stay on This is what forever sounds like — encore [Outro — solo diva voice returns alone, one long held note over fading piano, slow fade] ...I wasn't done
