[Tempo: 82 BPM | Key: E minor | Time: 4/4] [Style: Belle Mourne whisper-intimate alt-pop ballad; minimal verses → swelling choruses; dark + tender; NO EDM drop; NO trap hats; NO bright cymbals] [Vocal: Belle Mourne — female alto/mezzo; close-mic breathy whisper; intimate/conversational; light doubles in choruses; no belting; no shouting] [FX Palette: lo-fi tape wobble, low static bed, filtered water/noise texture, subtle reverse swells, gentle sidechain “breath” on pads] [Intro] [2–4 bars | felt piano single-note motif + distant filtered “water” noise + sub pulse every 2 bars | NO drums | lots of space for breath] [Verse 1] [close-mic whisper | piano stays sparse | add tiny rim “tick” only in bar 3–4, very low] 3 a.m. and I’m wide awake Listening for the floorboards shake There’s a river in the wallpaper There’s a shadow in the shape of prayer I tell myself, “You’re safe, you’re grown” But my pulse says, “Not alone” [Pre-Chorus 1] [build tension | bring in low pad swell + subtle sidechain to the sub pulse | introduce soft heartbeat kick (muted) on downbeats] I try to float, I try to fake A steady heart I cannot make One second calm—then I’m back there again And the night comes rushing in [Chorus] [add soft kit: deep kick + muted snare/clap | NO hats | widen pads slightly | vocal stays intimate; add light doubles on last 2 lines] I’m drowning in the river again Undertow hands go cold on my skin My chest is a drumhead Beating out what I can’t confess I wake up to water I can’t explain And I’m drowning in the river again [Verse 2] [drop back down | remove snare/clap | keep muted kick sparse + rim tick | add faint “linen/room tone” texture under vocal, very low] Daylight finds the quiet mess I made A small confession I can’t say I fold the evidence into white Like I can bleach away the night I laugh too hard, I act okay But my body keeps the score that my mouth won’t say [Pre-Chorus 2] [slightly stronger build than Pre 1 | pad opens wider | sub grows | add reverse swell into the chorus] I hold my breath, I count to ten I swear I’m fine—then there it is again One wrong sound, one slip of thought And I’m back inside what it taught [Chorus] [same as Chorus 1 | add a low harmony on “river again” only] I’m drowning in the river again Undertow hands go cold on my skin My chest is a drumhead Beating out what I can’t confess I wake up to water I can’t explain And I’m drowning in the river again [Bridge] [nearly naked | cut drums entirely | piano + room tone + soft water/noise | vocal almost spoken; breaths stay audible] If you could see what my sleep turns into You’d understand why I flinch at “good news” I’m not a kid, but I’m not okay Not when the dark still has a key to the gate So I sit with the sink running soft like rain Trying to name it without going back in [Final Chorus] [fullest moment but still restrained | bring back soft kit + wider pad | add tasteful vocal stacks on “again” | no shouting] I’m drowning in the river again Undertow hands go cold on my skin My chest is a drumhead Beating out what I can’t confess I wake up to water I can’t explain And I’m drowning in the river again [Outro] [beat drops away | leave piano motif + low pad | fade with water texture; final line almost a whisper] Teach my lungs to trust the air Teach my nights to let me rest here
