[INTRO - Filtered, Low & Gravelly, Vinyl crackle] Yeah... Uh... Love is the only shield... that guards the soul... You feel me? Check. [VERSE 1 - Deep chest voice, laid back on the beat, 93 BPM boom-bap] I was born in the storm where the cold winds blow, Concrete psalms on the wall, where the lost seeds grow, Mama told me "Son, the world'll try to steal your glow," Pocket full of dreams but my heart was froze. Seen money flip, seen homies slip, seen the fame come and go, Seen hollow men with gold chains but an empty soul, Tried to armor up with leather, steel, and ego, But every bullet that mattered was the one you couldn't know. Then she said love ain't soft, it's a warrior code, It don't fold when the night get heavy and the road get closed, It's the only thing that stands when the guns explode, Yeah... [HOOK - Sung / Half-rapped, doubled vocals, female harmony layered on top] Love is the only shield that guards the soul! (only shield!) When the darkness creepin', when the nights get cold! Love is the only shield that guards the soul! (guards my soul!) Ain't no money, ain't no fame, only love gon' make you whole! [VERSE 2 - Faster flow, urgent, slightly higher pitch, like '96 Nas] Yo, I seen kings lose kingdoms tryna guard gold, I seen gangstas lose freedom tryna play hardcore, I seen preachers lose faith tryna preach what they been told, But love? Love never lost a war, uh. It's not a fairytale, not a letter that you fold, It's the hand on your chest when your breath get slow, It's the voice in the static on the radio, Sayin' "Hold on, brother, you ain't alone." Take off the vest, take off the mask, let the truth be told, You can build a fortress but the fortress still gets old, Only thing that lasts when the heavens and earth fold... Is love. [BRIDGE - Whispered, close to the mic, then shouted call-and-response] (whispered) Can't buy it, can't steal it... (normal) Can't fake it, can't kill it... (shouted) IF YOU GOT IT, YOU FEEL IT! (Feel it!) (choir stack) If you lost it, you need it! [VERSE 3 - Deepest voice, slow, heavy, like Scarface / Biggie breakdown] Yeah... So when the reaper knock, when the shadows tall, When your name in the dirt and they don't return your calls, When your soul on trial behind them pearly walls, What you gon' show? What you gon' show, dawg? You gon' show the scars? You gon' show the trophies? Or you gon' show the love that you gave to your homies? The love to your mother? The love to your shorty? The love that you held when the world said "Don't be"? That's the shield, that's the steel, that's the only atonement, That's the real, that's the deal, that's the only component, Everything else rust, love is the only opponent... That death can't beat. [HOOK - Full vocal switch, soul singer belt + rapper ad-libs underneath] LOVE IS THE ONLY SHIELD THAT GUARDS THE SOUL! (yeah! guards the soul!) When the darkness creepin', when the nights get cold! (when it's so cold!) LOVE IS THE ONLY SHIELD THAT GUARDS THE SOUL! (say it again!) Ain't no money, ain't no fame, only love gon' make you whole! (make you whole!) [OUTRO - Faded, smoked-out, two voices overlapping] [V1 - low]: Love is the only shield... [V2 - high harmony]:...that guards the soul... : Let it guard ya... let it guard ya... : (ad-lib) Hold on to love, y'all...[V1][V2]
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