#1 Before the First Star

**(Tempo: ~140 BPM – driving, defiant, hopeful)** *(Ambient, sparse. Low cello drone. Occasional faint crackle like static from the void. No percussion for the first two minutes. Vocals are whispered, almost breath.)* **Verse 1** No light yet No word for "light" yet Just hydrogen dreaming of helium Just a clock with no hands Just a promise with no giver **Chorus** Before the first star punched a hole in the dark Before the first forge, before the first spark There was only waiting Only the long, cold waiting **Verse 2** No death yet No need for "death" yet Just space holding its breath Just gravity learning to count One. Then one more. Then one more. **Chorus** Before the first star split itself into purpose Before carbon could bleed or oxygen surface There was only waiting Only the long, cold waiting **Bridge** *(spoken over a single, rising synth note)* Imagine 100 million years of nothing happening. No. You can't. Because you are made of something that hadn't been invented yet. **Outro** *(whispered, fading)* Before the first star… There was no one to sing this song. So sing it quietly. For all those who couldn't. *(Held cello note. Fades to silence.)*