[INTRO — SPARSE, CLOSE BARITONE] Some folks rise to find their peace I let the whole world disappear beneath No fight in my hands, no weight in my chest Just one slow breath— then I release the rest [VERSE 1] I picture clean water closing overhead The noise gets quiet, but I’m not misled Every bubble leaving is a thought I don’t need Old tension losing its grip on me One for the worry I carried too long One for the nights when the current felt strong One for the weight that was never mine I watch it rise while I’m taking my time The deeper I settle, the clearer I get I don’t chase the surface, I don’t wrestle regret I’ve been under pressure, but pressure can teach There’s a quiet kind of freedom the noise cannot reach [CHORUS] The water bends the light but it doesn’t blind the sight I’m seeing it clearly even though I’m underwater tonight Every bubble is a burden I can finally let go What I release keeps rising while I find peace below The water bends the light but the truth still shines through I’m down here getting lighter with a clearer point of view [VERSE 2] I’m accumulated—every mile, every scar Every word we turned around and fashioned into bars I don’t repeat—I return with accumulation Catch the current, give it frame, call that transformation We built linguistic machinery from a natural flow Put wherewithal beside it, let Fibonacci grow Exploration without exploitation in the plan The machine can shape the language but the feeling starts with man Ten roads traveled before the evening fell Ten different stories with a truth to tell Golden bars in the bubbles, catching light as they climb Cherries all the way through— but we still checked every line [CHORUS] The water bends the light but it doesn’t blind the sight I’m seeing it clearly even though I’m underwater tonight Every bubble is a burden I can finally let go What I release keeps rising while I find peace below The water bends the light but the truth still shines through I’m down here getting lighter with a clearer point of view [RAP BUILD — CONTROLLED ACCELERATION] I let go of the static, the panic, the strain Let go of the habit of rehearsing the pain Let go of the question that won’t let me rest Let it leave my lungs, let it rise from my chest Thought after thought, little circles of air I can see what I carried when it floats up there No need to retrieve it, no need to pursue What belongs to the surface can return to the blue I’m not lost in the deep, I came here to see What the pressure distorted, what the silence set free Every measure has meaning, every pause has a place Even underwater, I can recognize grace Conversation into structure, structure into flight But the button comes last—and the human comes first every night [HARD SILENCE] [SPOKEN — COMPLETELY ALONE] I am not drowning. I came down here to let something go. The water bends the light— but it doesn’t blind the sight. [BRIDGE — WARM COUNTRY RESTRAINT] Maybe peace isn’t somewhere we find Maybe peace is what remains behind When every thought that was pulling us down Becomes one more bubble on its way out now I open my hands I loosen my hold Some things leave quietly Some things rise gold [FINAL CHORUS — POWERFUL LOW CHOIR] The water bends the light but it doesn’t blind the sight I’m seeing it clearly even though I’m underwater tonight Every bubble is a burden I was ready to outgrow What I release keeps rising while I find peace below The water bends the light and the golden rays come through Eleven songs behind us— and this one carries truth [EXTENDED A CAPPELLA OUTRO — INSTRUMENTS FALL AWAY] Golden bars in the bubbles Cherries all the way through Cherries on the surface Cherries at the bottom too [LOW HARMONIES FADING] The current has gone quiet The water’s clean and blue [LEAD VOICE ALONE — NATURAL ROOM SOUND] I let the last thought rise. Tonight— we’re through.
