(Track 3: Dual Shadows) (A lone slide guitar weeps over a muted 6/8 kick drum and distant room echo) (Intro / Spoken Word) (Exhaling slowly) They came to me to hold the weight... 'Cause they thought I was solid stone. So I wiped their tears with my right hand, While my left hand was under the table, bleeding. Nobody asks the pillar if its foundation is cracking. (Verse 1) I gotta be the strong one, that’s the script they wrote for me, The rock in the storm, the shaded branch on the tree. So when loss hit the house, everybody turned their eyes, Looking for my strength to sanitize their cries. I held your shoulders, listened to you scream at the sky, Gave you permission to break, while I choked back my why. It’s a lonely kind of labor—midwiving someone’s pain, When you’re standing in the exact same cold, pouring rain. I couldn’t afford to shatter; if I broke, who holds the room? So I deferred my own mourning, delayed my own gloom. I put my grief on ice, wrapped it up in a towel, Just so I could walk you through your darkest hour. (Chorus / Hook) (Warm background harmonies layer in softly) How do you hold someone up when your knees are buckling too? How do you whisper "it’s okay" when you ain't got a clue? I’m pouring out comfort from a reservoir that’s dry, Being the anchor for your tears while I ain't allowed to cry. Does the grief ever go away, or do we just learn to carry the stone? Sustaining your world... while I’m collapsing in my own. (Verse 2) (Beat drops to sparse rimshots and acoustic guitar) People ask me, "Do you ever really heal from the tear?" Or do you just get used to the ghost sitting in the chair? I don't think it goes away—nah, the shape just changes form. Grief ain't a temporary visit; it’s a whole new weather storm. You don't shrink the sadness; you just expand your heart To make room for the missing piece that tore you apart. Healing ain't forgetting, and it ain't feeling fine— It’s learning how to breathe with a scar on your spine. I saved you from sinking, but in the quiet late at night, When the house goes still and I turn off the light... I finally let the tears roll down my own face. Releasing my grief in a private, holy space. (Chorus / Hook) How do you hold someone up when your knees are buckling too? How do you whisper "it’s okay" when you ain't got a clue? I’m pouring out comfort from a reservoir that’s dry, Being the anchor for your tears while I ain't allowed to cry. Does the grief ever go away, or do we just learn to carry the stone? Sustaining your world... while I’m collapsing in my own. (Outro) (Hammond organ swells, vocal ad-libs fade into silence) It doesn't go away... It just becomes part of the song. I held you up... Now Lord, hold me. (Single acoustic guitar note rings out and fades) Genre: Southern Soul / Neo-Soul Ballad Vibe: Sparse, raw, somber, deeply emotional, introspective BPM: 64 BPM (6/8 Time Signature) Vocal List: Raw Lead Spoken Word / Rap Vocal Soulful R&B Lead Vocal (Chorus) Soft, Layered Harmony Backing Vocals Instrumentation List: Slide Electric Guitar (Reverb/Delay) Live Acoustic Guitar Hammond B3 Organ Muted Kick Drum & Snare Rimshots Upright Electric Bass
