[Intro | E Minor | 102 BPM | fingerpicked acoustic guitar, low upright bass] I've been fighting The same war For most of my life. The uniforms changed. The weapons changed. The enemy didn't. [Verse 1 | acoustic guitar, upright bass] They call it depression Like that's the whole thing A word on a chart A box that gets checked But I've lived inside it Long enough to know Some kingdoms Have winters That don't end There are black dogs Outside the walls Some sleep beneath my bed Some wait in the hallway Some sit beside me When I wake [Pre-Chorus | mandolin enters softly] I learned their names Before I learned How to live without them [Chorus | full band, restrained fuzzy electric guitar] There is no final battle No army coming home No flag above the castle No enemy overthrown I just keep the gates standing I keep the fires lit I wake up every morning And refuse to give them this [Verse 2 | brushed drums enter] I've watched whole years Disappear behind fog Lost days to the walls Lost nights to my thoughts I've learned how a mind Can become its own prison And how every locked door Can start to look like home People say "Keep fighting" Like fighting means Someday you win But what if the war Is the thing You have to keep living in? [Pre-Chorus | mandolin, bass] What if survival Isn't a finish line? What if it's The next morning? [Chorus | fuller, fuzzy electric guitar] There is no final battle No army coming home No trumpet in the distance No place where the darkness goes I just keep the gates standing I keep the fires lit I wake up every morning And refuse to give them this [Verse 3 | electric guitar grows darker] Sometimes the dogs Get through the walls Sometimes they take the town Sometimes I lose So much ground The walls get closer Every year But somewhere underneath The rubble and the ash There's still a little voice That says Get up. Not because Tomorrow gets better. Because you're still here. [Bridge | stripped acoustic guitar, upright bass] I've stopped asking When it will end. I've stopped waiting For the perfect morning. Maybe there isn't one. It's possible healing Isn't the kingdom Without the dogs. Maybe it's knowing Where they are And learning Which doors To keep locked. [Bridge Build | mandolin tremolo, brushed drums, fuzzy electric guitar slowly rising] The dogs are still there. The walls are still here. I don't need to win. I just need To stay. [Final Chorus | full band, emotional gang harmonies] There is no final battle No army coming home No perfect little ending Where I'm finally cured There is only this morning And whatever comes next Another day defended Another breath to protect I don't have to beat them I don't have to make them disappear I just have to stay here Long enough To see another year [Outro | acoustic guitar only] The black dogs Are still outside. I can hear them now. I've known them For decades. But the fire is burning. And the doors are locked. [Long silence] Tomorrow I'll see how close the walls are.
