STILL LOADING… [INTRO — soft digital ambience, notification sounds, intimate female vocal] “Why are you still here?” They said “Where’s your partner in crime?” [small pause] Wait… Is it a crime to be alone? [soft digital glitch] …Here we go again. [VERSE 1 — clean guitar, warm bass, minimal electronic beat; conversational vocal] “When are you settling down?” “When will you get a better job?” “You should really think ahead” “You know the clock won’t ever stop” I know… You only wanna help me You only wanna see me doing well But every little question Feels like another deadline I never gave myself [PRE-CHORUS — rhythmic delivery accelerates, drums gradually build] Why can’t I just Do it for myself? I appreciate you caring But carrying your expectations Is getting way too heavy Attention Giving me tension Suffocation From your frustration I just want Some isolation And enough room To write my own navigation [brief silence] My own destination. [CHORUS — warm explosive alt-rock, soaring clean vocal] I’m still loading… Give me a minute I’m not there yet Everybody’s asking What’s supposed to happen next I’m still loading… Maybe I’m behind Maybe I’m doing fine I don’t need to become somebody On somebody else’s time Let me load Let me grow I don’t know where this goes But for once I wanna figure it out On my own [POST-CHORUS — playful digital voice] Twenty-five… Fifty… Ninety-nine percent… [glitch] …Seriously? [VERSE 2 — stronger groove, rhythmic vocal, subtle sarcasm] Job? House? Love? Kids? [beat accents each word] Check Check Check Check Wait— Whose list is this? Everybody hands me answers To questions I never asked Everybody’s got directions For a road they never walked “Clock in.” “Grow up.” “Be realistic.” “Pick a lane.” Funny how they call it living When everybody lives the same [PRE-CHORUS 2 — increasingly frustrated] Attention Giving me tension Your good intentions Feel like inspections Every conversation Turns into evaluation Can I exist Without an explanation? I appreciate you caring I really do… [everything strips back] But let me carry My own life too. [CHORUS 2 — bigger guitars and drums, stacked backing vocals] I’m still loading… Give me a minute I’m not there yet Everybody’s asking What’s supposed to happen next I’m still loading… Maybe I’m behind Maybe I’m doing fine I don’t need to become somebody On somebody else’s time Let me load Let me grow Maybe nobody knows Maybe everybody’s guessing Where they’re supposed to go [BRIDGE — instruments collapse into digital ambience, vulnerable vocal] Maybe I spent too long Reading everybody else’s signs Maybe every label Made me question what was mine Maybe I’ve been clocking in To somebody else’s life Running toward a destination I never got to decide [long pause] So… Are we there yet? [quiet answer] I don’t know. [BUILD — clean guitar gradually joined by drums] And maybe… That’s alright. [FINAL CHORUS — biggest but warm rather than angry] I’m still loading… And I’m not sorry I’m not there yet I don’t need another answer For what happens next I’m still loading… I might fall behind I might change my mind Maybe taking my own road Is gonna take a little time Let me load Let me grow I still don’t know where this goes But I’d rather lose my way Than live a life That isn’t my own [FINAL REFRAIN — instruments gradually disappear] No destination… No navigation… No deadline I have to beat [soft smile in vocal] I’m still loading. That’s enough for me. [OUTRO — same digital ambience as intro] [computer voice] Ninety-nine percent… [long pause] [quiet female vocal] Leave it. I’m not in a rush anymore. [soft unresolved guitar chord]
