[Intro] [Verse 1] Red haze hanging low over a flickering town LEDs are buzzing while the rain comes down She’s standing at the crossing with her headphones on Neon in the puddles, all the buses gone There’s a pair of stone lions at the government gate Watching every stranger as they come home late She scans the crowd for a halfway honest face Someone who doesn’t look like they fell out of the rat race [Interlude] [Verse 2] Church bells trying hard to cut through the noise Calling tired women and commuter boys But nobody’s really listening to how the metal rings They’re all on the platform praying for their trains and pings Timetable’s broken and the app’s gone blind Everybody checking for a signal they can’t find A limping old veteran stumbles into her light Mumbles war stories, eyes ready for a fight [Chorus] I’m looking at the lions Stone lions tonight Used to mean something More than marble and might Who’s guarding all the gentle ones From concrete and spite? I’m listening for the lions Stone lions tonight [Melodic Interlude] [Verse 3] Overhead the rails scream, doors slam shut Somewhere down the line there’s another budget cut Helicopter circles like a nervous fly Somewhere in the side streets somebody will die Her evening news is a cracked glass screen Endless scrolling through a horror machine But her horoscope whispers, “You might be all right” Says a stranger could be calling in the middle of the night [Interlude] [Verse 4] She walks past the lions, chipped and worn Graffiti halos where their manes are torn Beneath their paws are flowers for a protest gone cold Candles for the homeless and the stories never told Morning paper talks about a swing to the right Strong men in slogans wanting back the night But she’s thinking of a voice that sounded kind on the phone And the way it felt like not being so alone [Chorus] I’m looking at the lions Stone lions tonight Once they stood for courage Now they’re chained to the site Who’s roaring for the quiet hearts Too tired to fight? I’m listening for the lions Stone lions tonight [Guitar Solo] [Bridge] Maybe the lions never really left at all Maybe they’re sleeping in the ones who still answer the call In the nurse on the night shift, in the kid on the tram In the girl at the crossing who won’t forget who she am If there’s a roar left hiding low in her chest It might wake up the city and the lions at rest [Chorus – last] I’m waking up the lions Stone lions tonight Not the flags, not the slogans Not the teeth of the right Just a heartbeat in the crosswalk Under sodium light I’m listening for the lions Stone lions tonight [Outro] Red haze lifting slow over a wounded town Somewhere in the distance the bells still sound She passes by the statues, breath like smoke in the air For a moment she could swear One lion moved there
