[Title: This Life or the Next] [Instrumental Intro Glassy synth pulse, deep sub-bass, rainlike percussion, no humming] [Verse 1 - Female Vocal] I woke up under neon With the rain on my skin Different city, different body Same old trouble pulling in You were standing by the window Like a ghost in expensive light I didn’t know your name yet But I knew you on sight [Verse 2 - Male Vocal] I found you near the ocean Where the old world fell asleep You had salt around your ankles And a secret you could keep I had blood across my knuckles You had stars inside your breath We were strangers for a second Then I loved you past the death [Pre-Chorus - Alternating Vocals] [Female] Were we fire? [Male] Were we glass? [Female] Were we something built to break? [Male] Were we lost inside the static? [Female] Were we born from old mistakes? [Both] I don’t care what name we answered I don’t care what shape we wore Every ending left a signal Every life became a door [Chorus - Duet] This life or the next I’ll find you in the wreckage I’ll know you by the spark Burning under your breath This world or another Under thunder, ash, or velvet I would still choose you This life or the next [Post-Chorus - Female Lead with Male Harmony] This life or the next This life or the next I would still choose you This life or the next [Verse 3 - Female Vocal] Once I saw you dressed in shadow On a rooftop painted red Cherry blossoms in the rainfall And a sword beside your bed You were laughing like a sinner With a halo made of smoke I was ice beneath the moonlight But your hands knew where I broke [Verse 4 - Male Vocal] Once I met you in an arcade Under blue electric signs You were leaning on the chaos Like you’d done it all your life There were monsters in the backroom There were angels in the glass You said, “Don’t look over your shoulder” So I didn’t when we ran [Pre-Chorus 2 - Alternating Vocals] [Female] Were we holy? [Male] Were we cursed? [Female] Were we lovers out of time? [Male] Were we teeth behind a promise? [Female] Were we hands around a wire? [Both] I don’t need the sky to answer I don’t need the gods impressed Every universe can end, love I’ll still know you from the rest [Chorus - Duet] This life or the next I’ll find you in the wreckage I’ll know you by the spark Burning under your breath This world or another Under thunder, ash, or velvet I would still choose you This life or the next [Bridge - Stripped Back, Call and Response] [Female] If I’m the ghost in the machine [Male] I’ll be the pulse behind the screen [Female] If I’m the queen beneath the tide [Male] I’ll be the blade kept at your side [Female] If I’m the light that burns too fast [Male] I’ll be the dark that makes it last [Both] And if we lose the thread again I’ll meet you where the signal bends [Final Chorus - Bigger, Layered Duet] This life or the next I’ll find you in the wreckage I’ll know you by the spark Burning under your breath This world or another Under thunder, ash, or velvet I would still choose you This life or the next [Outro - Soft Duet] Different sky Different name Same two hearts Same old flame If the stars forget the ending If the dark collects the debt I will find you in the silence This life or the next
