[Intro: soft didgeridoo-like drone, airy clapsticks, distant wind; spoken word intimate] In the before-time, the world held its breath A blank page of sand, a closed eyelid of sea [Verse 1: warm male vocals, modal melody, minor-to-Dorian shift, fingerpicked acoustic guitar, subtle hand percussion] I saw the sky unroll like a woven mat Stars spilled out—salt on a dark tongue A red-ochre dawn lit a silent track Where footprints waited for someone to hum A river slept, coiled under stone Dreaming of curves it had never been The hills were knees in a kneeling world The trees were ribs with a wind inside [Pre-Chorus: rising harmony, heartbeat kick, clapsticks tighter, call-and-response backing vocals] And then—one note Not loud, not long Just enough to wake the dust Just enough to make it belong [Chorus: soaring vocals, big toms, shimmering pads, chant-like hook, harmonies layered] Sing the land into shape, sing the night into flame Draw a line with your breath, let the songline remember your name From the nothing-before to the now-ever-after we came Circles of ochre and light, circles of time, circles the same [Verse 2: female lead enters, playful syncopation, bass pulses like footsteps, bright shakers] A great shadow slid through the thirsty plain Not a monster—more like a moving “why” It stitched the creeks with a patient spine And taught the rocks how to open their eyes Echidna laughed in a pocket of shade Kookaburra cracked the morning’s lock Even the ants had a secret parade Carrying suns in a breadcrumb clock [Pre-Chorus: half-time, whispered doubles, tension builds] Every hill has a syllable Every creek has a rhyme If you listen, the silence is full Of the first-time time [Chorus: fuller, brighter, choir swells, harmonic surprise on last line] Sing the land into shape, sing the night into flame Draw a line with your breath, let the songline remember your name From the nothing-before to the now-ever-after we came Circles of ochre and light, circles of time, circles the same [Bridge: spoken word over sparse drone, then builds into polyrhythmic percussion] (Spoken) I don’t own these stories I only hold my hands out like a bowl For the rain of wonder [Bridge: vocal crescendo, drum ensemble, shimmering synth arpeggios] So I walk soft, I walk slow I leave no scar where I go I let the elders of earth Tell the earth what it knows [Final Chorus: anthemic, layered vocals, stomp-clap groove, ecstatic release] Sing the land into shape, sing the night into flame Draw a line with your breath, let the songline remember your name We are sparks in a painting that refuses to fade Circles of ochre and light, circles of time, circles the same [Outro: instruments strip away, solo voice and clapsticks, fading into night ambience] A single note returns to the throat of the wind The world exhales And keeps dreaming
