EVERYTHING THE SWAMP OGs TAUGHT ME

[INTRO] Swamp don't just swallow you... It teaches you. If you live long enough to listen. [VERSE 1] Lizard Man told me, “Don't blink first” Said patience breaks curses worse than thirst Moved slow like time owed him money Eyes cold green like, “Boy, this ain't funny” Crawdad whispered underneath the roots Said pressure makes diamonds outta brutes Clicked his claw like punctuation marks Said survival glows brightest in the dark I said, “How you know all this?” He said, “I've been underground.” I said, “Fair enough.” [PRE-CHORUS] Every ripple got language Every bubble got law Swamp OGs talk quiet But they mean what they saw You gotta listen past the croakin' Past the branches and the rain Sometimes wisdom sounds like nonsense Till it saves you from the pain [HOOK] Everything the Swamp OGs taught me Ain't found in no map or book How to walk slow through danger How to stare fear back when it looks They said, “Breathe with the water Let the darkness guide your feet If you ever face the Witch again Learn what the low ones teach” [RAP VERSE 1] Gator said respect the silence between waves Power hides in stillness, not the graves Snapped once close to my boots Said predators move with absolute truth I said, “What truth?” He said, “You hear it when you stop.” Catfish Oracle rolled his eye real slow Said, “Boy, you late, but you still gon' grow” Told me time bends like a river spine Fate is mud mixed up with shine Said, “Quit waitin' for a sign in the sky.” I said, “What if I need one?” He said, “Then look down.” [INSTRUMENTAL RITUAL BREAK] [NO VOCALS] [4 BARS — DISTORTED DOBRO MOAN] [4 BARS — REVERSED BANJO TREMOLO] [4 BARS — RHYTHMIZED UNDERWATER GURGLES] [4 BARS — DEEP HEARTBEAT SUB PULSES] [WHISPERED TEXTURES: “LISTEN... ADAPT... SURVIVE...”] [VERSE 2] Saw Squatch watchin' from the tree line Nodded like I'd finally crossed a sign Mothman hovered tired but proud Kraken churned thunder underneath the cloud They didn't speak. They didn't need to. Squatch pointed at the mud Then pointed at my feet I looked down. My footprints weren't mine anymore. [RAP VERSE 2] Crawdad said pain teaches precision Lizard Man said trust your vision Gators grinned like teachers in wrath Catfish said walk the unseen path Squatch said, “Don't fight every storm.” Mothman said, “Learn when to move.” Kraken said nothing. He just made the whole damn river move. I walk different now through the reeds Got root and bone where once was need I ain't ready yet, but I'm close, I swear That Witch gon' feel me when I'm there And if she comes with that crooked grin I won't be the fool she dragged back in [FINAL HOOK] Everything the Swamp OGs taught me Living in my breath and skin When she rises from the blackened mire I won't be what I had been I'll move like water Strike like soil Speak in moss And silent coil The swamp prepared me for the war And I ain't scared no more [OUTRO] We learnin'... Every creature leaves a lesson. Every scar leaves a map. Every monster knows a little truth. And every truth costs somethin'. [WHISPER] She ain't ready... For what the swamp made of me....