[Tempo: 96 BPM | Time: 4/4 | Key: E minor] [Style: alt-pop / pop-punk hybrid confession anthem — modern, punchy, cinematic; NOT stadium; studio-clean] [Vocal: Belle Mourne ONLY — female alto/mezzo; close-mic intimate verses → bigger open choruses; stacked female harmonies in choruses; NO male vocals] [Drums Rule: no trap hats, no bright cymbals; use kick + rim/snare; hats only as very soft closed ticks in choruses if needed] [Length Target: 3:00–3:25 | Keep structure exactly | No extra verses | One bridge only | No crowd noise] [Intro] [2 bars | reversed felt-piano loop + low tape hiss | add warm pad swell on bar 2 | NO drums] [Verse 1] [Music: felt piano + warm pad; add muted clean guitar swells low; NO drums for first 2 lines, then add soft kick + rim only] [Vocal: Belle close-mic, breathy, talk-sung; minimal vibrato; keep consonants crisp] I keep the lights low when my thoughts get loud, Hide in the quiet like it’s safer somehow. I smile on cue, but it’s paper-thin, ’Cause the storm in my chest don’t quit. There’s a part of me I don’t show friends— The messy middle that I’m living in. [Pre-Chorus 1] [Build: add rising pad + low tom swell; widen guitar swells; add subtle snare build last 2 beats] [Vocal: slightly more melodic; add tight double on the last word of each line] If I let You see it, will You stay? If I say it out loud, will grace still say my name? [Chorus] [Full hit: punchy kick + snare backbeat; bass forward; wide pop-punk power chords tucked under; synth pad brightens; NO crowd noise] [Vocal: bigger/open + doubled lead; add 3-part stacked female harmonies on lines 1, 3, 4, and the phrase “don’t look away”] [Word painting: ONE subtle micro-stutter FX on the words “look away” in this chorus only] Don’t look away when I’m not okay, When my hands are shaking and my hope feels late. Meet me right here in the ugly and afraid, God, don’t look away. If You can use a wound, if You can use a crack, Let my weakness be a doorway for somebody coming back. I’m laying it open—nothing to hide today, God, don’t look away. [Verse 2] [Drop slightly: keep drums but lighter; add palm-muted eighth-note guitar low; add sub pulse following kick; keep pad darker] [Vocal: close-mic again; confessional; build intensity by line 6] Some days I shut down, some days I run, Some days my mind says, “You’re the only one.” I’ve tried to be strong, tried to be clean, Tried to be easy to love and to keep. But You keep showing up in the heavy parts— Not to shame me, but to hold my heart. [Pre-Chorus 2] [Build bigger: pad rises; tom swell; brief 1-beat stop before chorus hit] [Vocal: more open; double the last phrase] So I’ll stop pretending I’m fine, ’Cause You’re not scared of the dark in my mind. [Chorus] [Repeat chorus | slightly bigger guitars; add extra harmony layer on last 2 lines; NO extra FX stutters] Don’t look away when I’m not okay, When my hands are shaking and my hope feels late. Meet me right here in the ugly and afraid, God, don’t look away. If You can use a wound, if You can use a crack, Let my weakness be a doorway for somebody coming back. I’m laying it open—nothing to hide today, God, don’t look away. [Bridge] [Drop: piano + pad only for first 2 lines; remove drums; add airy female “ooh” stack very low on line 4; then riser into final chorus] [Vocal: intimate → rising; allow slight emotional crack on “hard night”] If my breath turns shallow, if my world turns small, If I can’t feel brave, You’re still God of all. Take what I’m scared to show, and make it someone’s light— A signal in the distance on a hard night. [Final Chorus] [Biggest: full drums, bass, wider guitars, brighter pad; add octave-up harmony on final “God, don’t look away”; end with clean stop] [Vocal: peak but not shouty; stacked harmonies throughout; hold “away” 1 extra beat on last line] Don’t look away when I’m not okay, When my hands are shaking and my hope feels late. Meet me right here in the ugly and afraid, God, don’t look away. If You can use a wound, if You can use a crack, Let my weakness be a doorway for somebody coming back. I’m laying it open—nothing to hide today, God, don’t look away.
