[Intro: fragmented female choir, distant breaths] LEVEL? LEVEL? [Verse 1: restrained low-mid vocal, sparse accompaniment] Born beneath the same sunrise We don't wake to the same view One is handed every key One keeps searching for a door We may start at different lines Still we're timed by the same clock When I tell them why I'm late They say I didn't try enough [Pre-Chorus 1: short phrases, tension rising] Nameless hands draw the line Right across our lives With an unseen ruler They rank us one by one [Chorus 1: sharp rhythmic hook, layered choir] LEVEL? Where does zero start? LEVEL? Who gets counted as one? So where do I belong? Where am I meant to stand? What do I have to prove To reach LEVEL 1? [Post-Chorus: short, fractured repetition] LEVEL? LEVEL? Who set the scale? [Verse 2: restrained low-mid vocal, darker] Somebody swallows back a cry I almost turn around I act like I heard nothing And disappear into the crowd I held the very same scale Without knowing it With hands already scarred by pain I weighed somebody else's wounds [Pre-Chorus 2: short phrases, percussion thins] Deep or shallow Heavy or light Just to stay on the safe side I drew the line [Chorus 2: stronger, self-accusing] LEVEL? Where does zero start? LEVEL? Who gets counted as one? Who drew the line Between zero and one? The scale stays in my memory Still measuring me [Breakdown: piano and low strings only] “Every life is precious” Those words are soft and warm They cover me like feathers But they don't soften the bed [Bridge: exposed vocal, almost no percussion] When I catch myself smiling Is it because I still have hope? Or have I simply grown used to Giving up? What are we supposed to do? I keep wondering too [Complete Instrumental Silence: one full bar] [High Vocal Rise 1: soft pure female head voice, pianissimo] Ooh—— [Silent Pause: one beat] [High Vocal Rise 2: higher flute-like female head voice, pianissimo, not louder] Ooh— ooh—— [Silent Pause: one beat] [High Vocal Rise 3: highest thin female whistle tone, quiet and weightless, no crescendo] Ooh———————— [Complete Silence: two beats] [Final Chorus: full orchestra enters suddenly, intense but not triumphant] LEVEL? Zero starts here LEVEL? I don't need LEVEL 1 I lay down the borrowed scale I stop keeping score I am simply breathing Here at LEVEL 0 [Outro: instruments gradually fall away] I won't call another's pain An excuse for falling short I won't use the hurt I carry To decide what yours is worth Even without answers I am alive LEVEL 0
