[Verse 1] [Style: Mezzosoprano with a bluesy, determined quality, over a low, grinding synth bass and the sound of mechanical clockwork, think of a female singer with the grit of early PJ Harvey] The cobblestone grid is a well-made cage Another sunrise flips another page On a story I’m sick of, in a town made of brass Where the future is smelted to make the past last My boiler’s a lung, takes a deep, heated breath A mechanical life defying a death Of routine and reason and governors’ speeches And the slow oxidation that industry preaches [Pre-Chorus] [Style: Tempo quickens, drums enter with a driving, four-on-the-floor kick, vocals become more rhythmic and urgent] And the people down there with their feet on the ground They get dizzy from spinning around and around I get ill from the stillness, I ache from the weight Gotta fire the engine before it’s too late [Chorus] [Style: Explodes into a soaring, synth-pop anthem with heavy guitar chords; powerful, layered female vocals with the ethereal quality of a M83 track] They tell me of vertigo, warn me I’ll fall But I’ve got that Altitude Sickness, that’s all A fever that breaks when the land disappears And the only sound left is the song in my gears My cure is the pressure, the cloud-cover sea There's no remedy ground-side for what’s wrong with me Just give me the sky and a heading unknown On this beautiful vessel I fashioned alone [Verse 2] [Style: Returns to the grittier feel of Verse 1, but with more melodic synth arpeggios weaving in the background] I saw the great storm on the Occidental Ridge From the safety and comfort of my navigator's bridge I’m chasing a rumor the atmosphere spoke Of a sun that shines brighter through volcanic smoke I’ve bartered for fuel with a smile and a wrench Left a boy in a top hat alone on a bench He offered a life full of teacups and clocks I need one with wind shears and perilous rocks [Pre-Chorus] [Style: Tempo quickens, drums and bass become more intense, vocals gain a desperate edge] And the people down there with their feet on the ground They are safe from the tempest, so terribly sound But I get ill from the safety, I ache from the stone Gotta ride out the turbulence, find a new zone [Chorus] [Style: Even bigger this time, more reverb on the vocals, a driving guitar riff joins the synths, pure euphoric release] They tell me of vertigo, warn me I’ll fall But I’ve got that Altitude Sickness, that’s all A fever that breaks when the land disappears And the only sound left is the song in my gears My cure is the pressure, the cloud-cover sea There's no remedy ground-side for what’s wrong with me Just give me the sky and a heading unknown On this beautiful vessel I fashioned alone [Bridge] [Style: Music drops to a dreamy, atmospheric section with shimmering synth pads and a heartbeat-like kick drum. Vocals are intimate, almost a spoken word] Some are content with a life pre-arranged A cog in the works, beautifully deranged By the comfort of knowing just where they belong I’d rather be nowhere, and prove them all wrong This elevation is a spiritual wage My ship is my body, the sky is my stage [Guitar Solo] [Style: A gritty, overdriven guitar solo with a soaring, melodic quality, played over the powerful synth chords of the chorus. It feels both mechanical and deeply emotional, like a machine screaming with joy.] [Outro] [Style: Music fades back to just the sound of wind and hissing steam, vocals are a distant, reverberating send-off] Altitude Sickness… Yeah… that’s all… Just the hiss of the lines And my name on the wind… Gone again…
