Ain't It A Shame - GHOST 48HRS REMIX (carlyD# Remix)

carlyD#'s voice One More Coffee, One More Hour

singer-songwriter, chamber choir, acoustic

[INTRO | SOLO BRIGHT STEEL-STRING ACOUSTIC GUITAR | CRISP FINGERPICKING, CHEERFUL REPEATING MELODY | PRIVATE STUDIO SOUND | NO VOCALS]

I got so good at
Saying I'm fine
I almost convinced
This heart of mine

I'd hold it together
When people were near
Then fall to pieces
When nobody could hear

I knew all the words
I knew how to play
Make them laugh
Then turn them away

They loved me best
When I was strong
God, I played that part
For far too long...

[PRE-CHORUS | GUITAR STRUMMING SLOWLY STRENGTHENS | FEMALE SOLO EXPOSED AND VULNERABLE | TENSION RISES | NO CHOIR]

Would they stay if
I lost my place?
If I took off
This smiling face?

Every performance
Every standing ovation
I was screaming inside
Without making a sound

I was dying
Right before your eyes

How the hell
Did nobody realise?

Ain't it a shame
How we hurt and call it living
Ain't it a shame
How I broke and kept on grinning
All this fear, all this pride
Every time I chose to hide
Ain't it a shame
I'm the one I'm still forgiving

[CHOIR FADES COMPLETELY | GUITAR RETURNS TO RESTLESS FINGERPICKING]

[VERSE 2 | FEMALE SOLO ONLY | ROUGHER, BITTERER, LESS CONTROLLED | NATURAL BREATHS AND VOCAL CRACKS | NO CHOIR]

I can't recall
When it changed
"You fucking have it all!"
I'd hear them say

If I fucking do
Why's there this hole?
Why does a full room
Still leave me alone?

The loneliness
Is deafening
Louder than the cheers
Louder than anything

I'd smile until
My jaw ached
Then go home
And fucking break

[PRE-CHORUS | URGENT ACOUSTIC STRUMMING | FEMALE VOCAL TREMBLES WITH FRUSTRATION | INCREASING EMOTIONAL PRESSURE | NO CHOIR]

Would they stay if
I lost my place?
If I let them see
What I couldn't say?

Each standing ovation
Each rose they laid
Did anybody love me
Or just the part I played?

I was dying
Right before your eyes

How the hell
Did nobody realise?

[CHOIR CUTS OUT COMPLETELY | SUDDEN EMOTIONAL EMPTINESS | SOLO GUITAR]

[BRIDGE | DELICATE SOLO FINGERPICKING | ORIGINAL FEMALE VOICE ALONE | CLOSE-MIC, FRAGILE, ALMOST BREAKING | NO CHOIR, NO HARMONIES, NO DRAMATIC EMBELLISHMENTS]

I think my mother would know my face
But not the years I spent this way
The nights I said that I was alright
Then cried so hard I couldn't make a sound

I wasn't brave
I was just scared
That if I broke
No one would care

[COMPLETE SILENCE | HOLD THE PAUSE | ONE SMALL UNSTEADY BREATH | ABSOLUTELY NO CHOIR]

[SOLO FEMALE VOCAL | BARELY HOLDING TOGETHER | NO ACCOMPANIMENT]

And God, I wish
I'd been wrong.

[LONG SILENCE | FIRST A SINGLE GENTLE GUITAR NOTE | THEN SLOW RESTRAINED STRUMMING]

[FINAL CHORUS | FEMALE LEAD BEGINS ALONE, CRACKING WITH GRIEF | ACOUSTIC STRUMMING BUILDS NATURALLY | WORDLESS CHAMBER CHOIR GRADUALLY ENTERS, SWELLING INTO ITS FULLEST HAUNTING HARMONIES | LEAD ALWAYS DOMINANT | NO CHOIR LYRICS, NO CHANTING, NO TRIUMPHANT RESOLUTION]

[CHOIR SLOWLY DISSOLVES INTO SILENCE | GUITAR RETURNS TO ORIGINAL BRIGHT CHEERFUL FINGERPICKING | STARK EMOTIONAL CONTRAST]

[OUTRO | FEMALE LEAD QUIET, EXHAUSTED AND EXPOSED | ORIGINAL CHEERFUL ACOUSTIC GUITAR | NO CHOIR]

Ain't it a shame
Sun's still shining anyway...
(still shining anyway)
I'm still hiding anyway
(anyway...)

[PAUSE | GUITAR STOPS | SMALL UNSTEADY BREATH]

[SOFT SOLO FEMALE SINGING | INTIMATE AND DEFEATED | NO ADDITIONAL VOICES]

[THE SAME CHEERFUL ACOUSTIC GUITAR CONTINUES ALONE | COMPLETELY UNCHANGED, AS THOUGH NOTHING HAPPENED]

[FADE OUT NATURALLY | NO CHOIR | NO RESOLUTION | NO FINAL ACCENT]

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[INTRO | SOLO BRIGHT STEEL-STRING ACOUSTIC GUITAR | CRISP FINGERPICKING, CHEERFUL REPEATING MELODY | PRIVATE STUDIO SOUND | NO VOCALS] [VERSE 1 | ORIGINAL FEMALE LEAD ONLY | CLOSE, INTIMATE, CONVERSATIONAL SINGING | FORCED SMILE HIDING PAIN | GENTLE FINGERPICKING | NO CHOIR] I got so good at Saying I'm fine I almost convinced This heart of mine I'd hold it together When people were near Then fall to pieces When nobody could hear I knew all the words I knew how to play Make them laugh Then turn them away They loved me best When I was strong God, I played that part For far too long... [PRE-CHORUS | GUITAR STRUMMING SLOWLY STRENGTHENS | FEMALE SOLO EXPOSED AND VULNERABLE | TENSION RISES | NO CHOIR] Would they stay if I lost my place? If I took off This smiling face? Every performance Every standing ovation I was screaming inside Without making a sound I was dying Right before your eyes How the hell Did nobody realise? [CHORUS | FULLER ACOUSTIC STRUMMING | FEMALE LEAD POWERFUL, RAW AND UNFLINCHING | SMALL DISTANT CHAMBER CHOIR ENTERS WITH SOFT WORDLESS SUSTAINED VOWELS | CHOIR BEHIND LEAD, NEVER SINGS LYRICS | NO CHANTING] Ain't it a shame How we hurt and call it living Ain't it a shame How I broke and kept on grinning All this fear, all this pride Every time I chose to hide Ain't it a shame I'm the one I'm still forgiving [CHOIR FADES COMPLETELY | GUITAR RETURNS TO RESTLESS FINGERPICKING] [VERSE 2 | FEMALE SOLO ONLY | ROUGHER, BITTERER, LESS CONTROLLED | NATURAL BREATHS AND VOCAL CRACKS | NO CHOIR] I can't recall When it changed "You fucking have it all!" I'd hear them say If I fucking do Why's there this hole? Why does a full room Still leave me alone? The loneliness Is deafening Louder than the cheers Louder than anything I'd smile until My jaw ached Then go home And fucking break [PRE-CHORUS | URGENT ACOUSTIC STRUMMING | FEMALE VOCAL TREMBLES WITH FRUSTRATION | INCREASING EMOTIONAL PRESSURE | NO CHOIR] Would they stay if I lost my place? If I let them see What I couldn't say? Each standing ovation Each rose they laid Did anybody love me Or just the part I played? I was dying Right before your eyes How the hell Did nobody realise? [CHORUS | STRONG OPEN ACOUSTIC STRUMMING | FEMALE LEAD WOUNDED AND DEFIANT | HAUNTING WORDLESS CHAMBER CHOIR RETURNS, DEEPER AND MORE EMOTIONAL | SLOW SUSTAINED HARMONIES SWELL BENEATH LEAD | NO LYRICS OR CHANTING FROM CHOIR] Ain't it a shame How we hurt and call it living Ain't it a shame How I broke and kept on grinning All this fear, all this pride Every time I chose to hide Ain't it a shame I'm the one I'm still forgiving [CHOIR CUTS OUT COMPLETELY | SUDDEN EMOTIONAL EMPTINESS | SOLO GUITAR] [BRIDGE | DELICATE SOLO FINGERPICKING | ORIGINAL FEMALE VOICE ALONE | CLOSE-MIC, FRAGILE, ALMOST BREAKING | NO CHOIR, NO HARMONIES, NO DRAMATIC EMBELLISHMENTS] I think my mother would know my face But not the years I spent this way The nights I said that I was alright Then cried so hard I couldn't make a sound I wasn't brave I was just scared That if I broke No one would care [COMPLETE SILENCE | HOLD THE PAUSE | ONE SMALL UNSTEADY BREATH | ABSOLUTELY NO CHOIR] [SOLO FEMALE VOCAL | BARELY HOLDING TOGETHER | NO ACCOMPANIMENT] And God, I wish I'd been wrong. [LONG SILENCE | FIRST A SINGLE GENTLE GUITAR NOTE | THEN SLOW RESTRAINED STRUMMING] [FINAL CHORUS | FEMALE LEAD BEGINS ALONE, CRACKING WITH GRIEF | ACOUSTIC STRUMMING BUILDS NATURALLY | WORDLESS CHAMBER CHOIR GRADUALLY ENTERS, SWELLING INTO ITS FULLEST HAUNTING HARMONIES | LEAD ALWAYS DOMINANT | NO CHOIR LYRICS, NO CHANTING, NO TRIUMPHANT RESOLUTION] Ain't it a shame How we hurt and call it living Ain't it a shame How I broke and kept on grinning All this fear, all this pride Every time I chose to hide Ain't it a shame I'm the one I'm still forgiving [CHOIR SLOWLY DISSOLVES INTO SILENCE | GUITAR RETURNS TO ORIGINAL BRIGHT CHEERFUL FINGERPICKING | STARK EMOTIONAL CONTRAST] [OUTRO | FEMALE LEAD QUIET, EXHAUSTED AND EXPOSED | ORIGINAL CHEERFUL ACOUSTIC GUITAR | NO CHOIR] Ain't it a shame Sun's still shining anyway... (still shining anyway) I'm still hiding anyway (anyway...) [PAUSE | GUITAR STOPS | SMALL UNSTEADY BREATH] [SOFT SOLO FEMALE SINGING | INTIMATE AND DEFEATED | NO ADDITIONAL VOICES] [THE SAME CHEERFUL ACOUSTIC GUITAR CONTINUES ALONE | COMPLETELY UNCHANGED, AS THOUGH NOTHING HAPPENED] [FADE OUT NATURALLY | NO CHOIR | NO RESOLUTION | NO FINAL ACCENT]

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