[Intro] [Drums: Tom heavy beat, four-on-the-floor kick, rimshot backbeat] [Bass: Fretless bass run] [Guitars: Screaming slide guitar riff in Drop D] [Verse 1] [Baritone Lead, close mic, dry with analog delay] He walks into the room like a soldier on parade Wearing every scar like a medal he can’t trade Check the perimeter, watch the open door Field-stripped and ready for a war only he can see on the floor They call him a pillar, they call him a rock While he’s hearing the radio crackle in a countdown clock Standing in the armor that he made out of lead Carrying the living and carrying the dead [Chorus] [Baritone Lead] [Full Band: Driving Drop D power chords, heavy plate reverb] The world isn't ready for who he needs to be So he locks the iron door and he throws away the key He’s got heavy shoulders and an iron-plated chest Too strong to cry, so he'll stay depressed Yeah, he’ll wear the crown, he’ll bear the weight And call a broken spirit just a twist of fate [Verse 2] [Drums drop to heavy tom rhythm and rimshot, guitar slides in background] Ask him how he’s doing, he’ll tell you that he’s fine Standing at the edge of a self-inflicted line Everybody leans when the structure starts to shake Nobody asks how much a pillar takes before it breaks Too proud to bleed, too stubborn to yield Dying on a phantom battlefield With a mouth full of orders he never gets to say And a tired pair of hands that keep the dark away [Chorus] [Baritone Lead] [Heavy Drop D power chords, Hammond organ swells] The world isn't ready for who he needs to be So he locks the iron door and he throws away the key He’s got heavy shoulders and an iron-plated chest Too strong to cry, so he'll stay depressed Yeah, he’ll wear the crown, he’ll bear the weight And call a broken spirit just a twist of fate [Bridge] [Tempo remains steady at 92 BPM, instruments strip back] [Fretless bass solo line with tape saturation] [Eerie slide guitar swells with heavy analog delay] He’s been bracing the frame with a ribcage of wire Taking the hit, standing in the line of fire Every name on his back is another stone in the wall He keeps lifting and lifting till he can’t lift at all [Build Up: Tom roll crescendo, Hammond organ swell] Now the bolts in his hands won’t turn, won’t hold And the old command in his mouth has gone cold If he lets one beam slip, who steps in the dark? If the pillar gives way, does anybody mark? [Guitar Solo] [Raw blues slide guitar solo over heavy Drop D power chords] [Final Chorus] [Maximum energy, full band, thunderous four-on-the-floor kick] The world isn't ready for who he needs to be So he locks the iron door and he throws away the key He’s got heavy shoulders and an iron-plated chest Too strong to cry, so he'll stay depressed Yeah, he’ll wear the crown, he’ll bear the weight And call a broken spirit just a twist of fate [Outro] [Music slows down, instruments strip away leaving just fretless bass and low organ] [Bare Baritone Lead, intimate and dry] They call him a pillar, but stone still splits And the man inside the wall is the one who quits If he ever lets it crack, let it crack clean through [Pause] Maybe somebody else... will finally carry him too. [Outro Fade] [Final low slide guitar ring with heavy plate reverb decay]
