[Intro] [distant wind, single solo cello note over a clearly audible, glowing synth arpeggio already present, no woodwinds yet, no percussion, no vocals] [Verse 1] [whispered, near a cappella, strings and woodwinds together over the clearly audible synth arpeggio] Ninety floors and not one window Holds a light that isn't mine I found a garden on the rooftop Dead a hundred summers, maybe more Somebody planted it on purpose Somebody thought there'd still be more [Chorus — Strings Only] [strings and prominent synth arpeggio only, woodwinds silent, synth arpeggio audible and glowing throughout, layered choir harmonies, reverent not triumphant] Concrete doesn't grieve the builders Concrete just stands where they left The city kept its promises Right up until it kept them to death [Verse 2] [cracked, pained, strings and woodwinds together, synth arpeggio clearly audible underneath] I walk the boulevards they widened For cars that never learned to fly The billboards still light up at sunset Selling nothing left to buy I read a sign that says tomorrow Somebody's tomorrow, not mine [Chorus — Woodwinds Only] [woodwinds and prominent synth arpeggio only, strings silent, synth arpeggio audible and glowing, choir harmonies softer and breathier] Concrete doesn't grieve the builders Concrete just stands where they left The city kept its promises Right up until it kept them to death [String and Woodwind Interlude] [strings and woodwinds together, synth arpeggio clearly present underneath throughout, solo cello line answered by oboe, distant wind, rubato and unhurried, fading toward silence] [Verse 3] [whispered, near a cappella, strings and woodwinds together, synth arpeggio clearly audible, hollow and intimate] There's a fountain in the plaza Dry since before I learned to walk My mother said it used to run all summer Said the whole block used to talk I sit beside it in the evenings Just to hear what silence has to say [Bridge] [strings and woodwinds building together, synth arpeggio thickening and rising in prominence, tempo lifting toward 72 BPM] I'm not angry at the ones who built it They built it thinking it would hold I'm just tired of walking through the promise Long after the promise turned cold [Verse 4] [pained, strings and woodwinds together, synth arpeggio at its most present and audible here, choir harmonies rising, grief-driven not furious] This city had a hundred million voices Now it only has the wind I light a candle in a stairwell Not for who I lost, but who could've been [cracked, near-breaking, single sustained cello note underneath] I'm the last one keeping count of something Nobody's coming to relieve me when I end [Break] [all instruments cut, one unaccompanied cracked line, dead silence behind it] SOMEBODY SHOULD REMEMBER WHAT THIS WAS [Chorus - Final] [full ensemble reunited — strings, woodwinds, and synth arpeggio all clearly audible together at fullest swell, synth arpeggio unmistakable in the mix, layered choir harmonies, single resonant timpani hit marking the downbeat, reverent and solemn] Concrete doesn't grieve the builders Concrete just stands where they left The city kept its promises Right up until it kept them to death [Outro] [single sustained cello note and clearly audible synth arpeggio fading together, distant wind rising to take their place, silence, no fade] [End]
