Silence Of The Queen

[Intro] (Atmospheric, low-fidelity vinyl crackle. A slow, heavy, dampened piano melody plays—three notes, repeating like a heartbeat that’s slowing down. A faint, distant acoustic guitar strum echoes.) (Spoken, low and breathy) They don’t warn you about the silence. They don't tell you that when the world stops, it leaves a ringing in your ears that never goes away. Erica... I’m still here. I’m still listening. [Verse 1] (Rhythmic, slow-flow rap) The sun came up this morning but it didn’t bring the light Just a gray shade of morning, fading out the memory of the night I’m looking at your pictures, tracing outlines of your face Tryin’ to find a reason why the world would leave this empty space You were the pulse in my veins, the blood in my heart Now I’m ripped open, baby, falling right apart The silence is a predator, it’s hunting down my soul Trying to fill a void that’s deeper than the blackest hole. [Verse 2] (Rhythmic, slow-flow rap) You taught me how to walk when my legs were made of lead Pointed toward the summit when I was looking at the dead You had a spirit like a wildfire, a grace that defied the pain Stood tall in the tempest, didn't wither in the rain You were my Queen of Spades, the royalty inside my mind The most precious jewel that this broken man could ever find Now the throne is cold, the velvet’s wearing thin And I’m just drowning in the places that you’ve never been. [Pre-Chorus] I’m holding onto fabric, holding onto scent Trying to calculate the cost of every single breath we spent The clock is frozen, Erica, the hands won't move at all I’m just waiting for the shadow of your silhouette to fall. [Chorus] (Powerful, gravelly, melodic Country/Rock delivery) Oh, you were the Queen of my heart, the North Star in the black I’d trade a thousand lifetimes just to bring you back I’m shattered on the floor, I’m pleading with the sky Why’d the flower have to wither, why’d the light have to die? You were the love of my life, my spirit, and my song And everything inside me knows it’s never been this wrong My beautiful Queen, my angel from above Left me here to starve inside the famine of your love. [Verse 3] (Rhythmic, slow-flow rap) I watched you fight the cancer, watched it clawing at your skin But you never let it touch the diamond that you held within You were the caregiver, the steady hand, the guiding light Even when your own body was giving up the fight You were the definition of a warrior in bloom Fighting for your life while I was standing in the room I held you in my arms, felt the heavy, ragged breath The most beautiful, haunting, terrifying dance with death. [Verse 4] (Rhythmic, slow-flow rap) I shattered when you left, hit the floor like broken glass Praying to the heavens that this misery would pass But the questions keep on coming, echoing inside my head Why the good ones go, while we’re just walking with the dead? I’m seeking out the answers, yeah, I’m digging in the dirt Trying to find a purpose underneath the mountain of this hurt I’ll hunt the truth forever, yeah, I’ll never turn my back Until I’m standing where you are, crossing over to the black. [Bridge] (Tempo slows to a near stop, heavy bass swell) They say you’re in a better place, that the pain has gone away But I’m stuck here in the middle of a never-ending day If love could build a stairway, if tears could build a lane I’d be up there in a heartbeat, just to soothe away the pain But I’m down here in the wreckage, with a soul that’s torn in two Just a King who lost his Queen, and doesn’t know what to do. [Verse 5] (Rhythmic, slow-flow rap - Final Verse) So here’s my final promise, written in the tears I cry I’ll keep your name alive until the moment that I die I’ll tell the world the story of the woman that I chose The grit, the gold, the glory, and the beauty that you rose You weren't just my wife, you were the air that let me breathe The only truth I ever had, the only thing I’d never leave Rest easy, my sweet Erica, in the fields of emerald green You’ll always be the legacy, you’ll always be my Queen. [Guitar/Instrumental Break] (A haunting, reverb-heavy electric guitar solo—slow, crying, bending notes that sound like a sob. It builds into a crescendo of raw, distorted emotion and then abruptly cuts to silence.) [Outro] (Soft, acoustic guitar, whispered vocals) The nights are long... But I’ll keep the porch light on. Just in case you come back. I love you, my Queen. (Fade out into the sound of distant, soft thunder)