06 - The River Without Reflection

[Intro | liquid drones | distant breathy vocal] Black water moving Under the night No face returning No borrowed light [Verse 1 | slow flowing pulse | intimate lead vocal] I came to the river With dust on my tongue A name in my pocket A song half-sung The stones were sleeping The reeds bent low Something beneath me Whispered, “Let go” [Pre-Chorus | soft rising echoes | submerged backing vocal] Step by step The bank disappears The water remembers What the body fears [Chorus | dark fluid swell | layered breathy vocal] The river has no reflection No mirror, no sky It takes the face from the surface But leaves the name alive The river has no reflection No answer, no sign It carries the shadow forward And pulls the shape behind [Verse 2 | deeper pulse | slow modal melody] My hands in the current My breath in the cold The past like a serpent Uncurling its hold I looked for my outline I looked for my eyes But the water stayed empty And perfectly still inside [Pre-Chorus | whispered echoes | widening reverb] Step by step The bank disappears The water remembers What the body fears [Chorus | fuller dark swell | close vocal doubles] The river has no reflection No mirror, no sky It takes the face from the surface But leaves the name alive The river has no reflection No answer, no sign It carries the shadow forward And pulls the shape behind [Bridge | stripped drones | whispered vocal] Do not kneel Do not pray The river knows What not to say Do not turn Do not call Some crossings take Less than all [Final Chorus | wide reverb | ghostly backing layers] The river has no reflection No mirror, no sky It takes the face from the surface But leaves the name alive The river has no reflection No answer, no sign It carries the shadow forward And pulls the shape behind [Outro | fading water texture | soft final vocal] Black water moving Under the night I crossed without seeing What returned to the light