[Intro – Whispered chant, ambient wind, soft drum] River take him / River knows Blood to water / Bone to flow Willow bends and fire fades River never asks what’s paid [Wind whistles, low flute enters, water trickles. Distant fire crackles. Heartbeat drum begins softly.] [Verse 1 – Female] We built our vows in the mud and ash By the willow’s bend, by the fire’s flash He swore on stone, I swore on breath But the river keeps its part in death [Verse 2 – Male] She danced in storm with crow and flame I called her wild, she called my name But when the drought came for her trust She fed me lies and broke to dust [Pre-Chorus – Both, rising] Bury the ring, the name, the word Let the current take what’s heard Grief runs faster than a blade Wash it down. Let it fade [Background chant in Latin (soft, looped): “Memini flumen, memor sum ossium…” [(I remember the river, I remember the bones)] [Chorus – Both, powerful harmonies, war drums rising] Bones for the river, blood for the stream Love is a death wrapped up in dream Skin to sky, and vows to rot The river remembers — the gods forgot [Instrumental Break – Hurly-gurdy, tribal drums, flute spirals] [Add ambient FX: bone clack, fire whoosh, splash.] [Verse 3 – Female] He carved a knife from my goodbye And drank my truth like bitter rye But rivers don’t care why we break They just take bones, and take, and take [Verse 4 – Male] I gave her thunder, she gave me rain She kissed me once, then let me stain The water’s edge with what we were Now only echoes call her “sir” [Verse 5 – Female, symbolic object verse] I left a lock, I left a ring A thorn, a tooth, a crowbone string The water lapped, the fire sighed I whispered once… and then it died [Pre-Chorus – Both, fierce and rising] Ash for oath, and claw for cry Spit the truth, and damn the sky Let the current clean the grave Let the river choose what stays [Latin chant repeats in background – more intense this time] “Memini flumen, memor sum ossium…” [Chorus – Both, fully layered] Bones for the river, blood for the stream We danced like ghosts inside a dream One broke the vow, the other bled And the river sings for what we said [Bridge – Ritual Duet with Crowd Response] [Call and Response – Spoken Shout + Echo from audience or layered vocal FX] [Lead:] “Who do we bury?” [Crowd:] “The one who lied!” [Lead:] “What do we offer?” [Crowd:] “The bone, the blood, the tide!” [Male (spoken):] I gave my rage to the river’s face [Female (spoken):] I burned my name without a trace [Both (together):] The river takes, but it never forgives It keeps our bones. It drinks. It lives. [Final Chorus – Slower, stripped to voices and flute] Bones for the river, blood for the stream What once was love is now downstream We fed it truth, we fed it lies The river keeps what memory hides [Reversal Refrain – Soft Male & Female] We gave the river what we could But it was never love it took [Outro – Whispered Chant Return, fading slowly] > River take him / River know Blood to water / Bone to flow... Love was lost where wild things go Bones for the river… let it go. [Flute trails off. Final bone knock. One splash. Then silence.]
