[TITLE: BROOM & SALT (HEALTHY WATER)] [ARTIST: EARTHLING] [GENRE: Americana • Folk Rock • Slow-Burn Witness] [STYLE: Low droning acoustic guitar, upright bass, floor tom heartbeat, distant electric guitar, and close weathered baritone. Spoken-sung verses; grounded melodic refrain. Group hums enter near the end.] [TEMPO: 72 BPM → 84 BPM | KEY: E MINOR → G MAJOR] [MOOD: Heavy • Honest • Cleansing • Hope-Carrying] [INTRO — guitar drone, room tone] [Spoken] I used to say “she” when the truth got too close. [VERSE 1] She drank from a sea of stories That told her she was blind Kept pouring water on the fire Trying to outrun time There were ashes in the hallway There was salt beneath the door She found an old broom in the corner And began with one small floor [REFRAIN — bass enters] Sweep what you can Let the rest come to light Pour a little clean water Into what you hold tonight You don’t have to clear the ocean You don’t have to win the war Just bring your hands back home And sweep a little more [VERSE 2 — floor tom begins a slow pulse] I called those scars old pieces of eight Like treasure I was due But some were only weight I’d kept From all I’d lived through I heard the unsaid things at night Like loose coins in a tin Then morning found me at the table With a glass of water in my hand [REFRAIN] Sweep what you can Let the rest come to light Pour a little clean water Into what you hold tonight You don’t have to clear the ocean You don’t have to win the war Just bring your hands back home And sweep a little more [BRIDGE — bass and floor tom only; voice close] Salt gets in the wooden grain And stays there through the rain I can’t go back and stop the tide That carried it my way But I can open up the windows I can let the morning through I can ask for help with what’s too heavy And choose what I pour in now [BUILD — acoustic strum widens; group hums enter] One cup One breath One ordinary day The room is changing As I stay [FINAL REFRAIN — lift to G Major, 84 BPM] Sweep what you can Let the rest come to light Pour a little clean water Into what you hold tonight I won’t pretend I’m untouched I won’t call the hurt my name I’ll sweep the floor beneath me And let the water change [CODA — instruments fall away; communal breath] [Spoken] You can’t undo what came in with the tide. [Pause] But there’s room for healthy water now. [One soft guitar chord. Silence.]
