[Intro — low, smoky, almost spoken] Yeah… Name’s Rook. I don’t say much. Don’t need to. I see enough for all of us. [Verse 1 — rough, calm, intimate] I learned young how to climb brick walls, How to trust my hands when the foothold falls, How to breathe real slow on broken stone, How to make the high dark feel like home. They sent me up where the gutter winds cut, Over slate roof teeth and chimney soot, Count the windows, mark the doors, Learn the bones beneath the floors. [Pre-Chorus — rising, restrained] I ain’t the loud kind, never was, I don’t need cheers, I don’t need love, Just one clean path, one clear way through, And I make damn sure I get back with you. [Chorus — big, raw, emotional] I watch from above while the city sleeps, Where the rain cuts hard and the rooftop weeps, I know every crack, every ledge, every line, Every bad way down and the one way out in time. I’m the hush in the smoke, I’m the hand on the gun, Last man to move when the job comes undone, And if the black night wants blood from my own, It’ll have to come through me alone. [Verse 2 — firmer, with outlaw edge] I ain’t no hero, don’t wear that skin, I just read the room before we go in, Read the guards, the street, the air, Read the kind of fear hanging everywhere. And when it breaks, when the shouting starts, When luck runs dry and it hits too hard, That iron at my side ain’t pride to me, It’s just the last damn thing between My people and the teeth of the street. [Pre-Chorus — stronger, more feeling] I know the sound of a plan gone wrong, Know how panic moves through a crowd too strong, So I stay cold when the rest runs hot, One clear breath, one careful shot. [Chorus — bigger, more force] I watch from above while the city sleeps, Where the rain cuts hard and the rooftop weeps, I know every crack, every ledge, every line, Every bad way down and the one way out in time. I’m the hush in the smoke, I’m the hand on the gun, Last man to move when the job comes undone, And if the black night wants blood from my own, It’ll have to come through me alone. [Bridge — quieter, confessional, weary] Some nights I drift where the hounds all run, Throw down coin like a goddamn fool for fun, Watch ‘em fly round the bend like sin, Lose what I got and walk home again. Ain’t proud of that. Ain’t much use sayin’ why. Some men drink, some men lie. Me, I let bad luck have its bite, Then I climb back up into the night. [Breakdown — hard, rough, half-shouted] You won’t see me Till I’m there. Boot on brick And smoke in the air. One shot. One spark. One road left to run. You touch my crew— Then I’m the gun. [Final Chorus — biggest, fullest, like a vow] I watch from above while the city sleeps, Where the cold wind claws and the rooftop creaks, I know every scar this city hides, Every false locked door and the dark inside. I’m the eye in the night, I’m the calm when it breaks, I’m the choice that a desperate man finally makes, And if the black night wants blood from my own, It’ll have to come through me— Yeah, it’ll have to come through me alone. [Outro — soft, smoky, fading] So look up, If you’re lost below. I’m still here… Where the Night Crows go.
