HUSH / THUNDER House of Rowan — Forge [Overture — 8 bars, no drums; distant dramatic mezzo-soprano, bowed bass, low organ] [Female Mezzo-Soprano — operatic, distant] Behind these gilded doors, A thousand footsteps sleep. Beneath the marble floor, There’s thunder buried deep. [Male Rapper — spoken, very close; orchestra fades] They built this place to keep the noise outside. Funny thing about stone … It carries sound. [One beat of absolute silence] [Beat Drop — hard swung boom-bap drums, mono 808 glide, urgent pizzicato cellos] [Verse 1 — Male Rapper, gritty, steady pocket] Black rain, brake lights, two a.m. glow, Corner-store shutter like a jaw locked closed. I learned to move quiet when the whole block froze, One eye on the curb, one eye on the road. Elevator dead, ten flights to the roof, Neighbor sang scales through a wall paper-thin. I was down on the landing, counting ways to get through, Never knew that a violin could sound like kin. Now the velvet rope swings when I step through the door, Still got that cracked sidewalk under my soles. I ain’t here for your crown, ain’t begging for a seat, Brought a whole neighborhood in with the beat. Let the strings go high, let the low brass growl, Let the drums put a crack in that polished marble. If you ask where I’m from, you can hear it in the snare— Everybody I lost got a little room here. [Pre-Chorus — call-and-response, strings answer each line] [Mezzo-Soprano] Who walks beneath the stone? [Rapper] Every name they never heard. [Mezzo-Soprano] Then let the hall be known— [Rapper] Don’t say another word. [Chorus — beat stops on “Hush,” full ensemble hits on “Thunder”] [Mezzo-Soprano — soaring] Huuush … [Rapper — whispered] Hear the floorboards talking? [Mezzo-Soprano — full operatic] Thuuunder! [Rapper — deep, rhythmic] That’s the whole block walking. [Mezzo-Soprano and Rapper — antiphonal] From the curb to the chandelier, Let the ones outside come near. Hush … thunder. Hush … thunder. [Instrumental Duel — 8 bars, operatic melody against strings, bass and drums] [Verse 2 — Male Rapper, sharper double-time bursts] No tux, no mask, no borrowed last name, Still smell the street when it starts to rain. They want the clean-cut story, neat in a frame, Not the grease on the hands that carried the pain. I been told, “Be grateful, don’t shake this room,” But the kick hit once and the rafters moved. See a kid in the balcony leaning over the rail, Trying to catch that note like a ship catches sail. So I leave one bar wide open, let it breathe, Let the cello tell the truth I couldn’t speak. This ain’t gold leaf, this is cracked gold paint, This ain’t some fairy tale about a man turned saint. It’s the block in the box seats, boots on the stairs, A whole lot of history breathing one air. When the last note falls and the lights get low, I want that kid going home with a melody to own. [Recitative — drums vanish, solitary cello, close breath] [Mezzo-Soprano — tender, unamplified] I thought the hall was empty, I listened from above. But every footstep held a song, And every song was love. [Rapper — low, nearly spoken] Nah … not every song was love. Some were warnings. But we brought ’em here anyway. [Counterpoint Build — fugato strings, distant operatic voice, rising horns] [Mezzo-Soprano] Open the doors. Open the doors. [Rapper — rhythmic] Let the cold night in. [Mezzo-Soprano] Open the doors. Open the doors. [Rapper] Let the whole thing begin. [Final Chorus — first line totally a cappella, then huge orchestral hip-hop impact] [Mezzo-Soprano] Huuush … [Rapper] Hear the floorboards talking? [Mezzo-Soprano] Thuuunder! [Rapper] That’s the whole block walking. [Both] From the curb to the chandelier, Let the ones outside come near. Hush … thunder. Hush … thunder. [Outro — stop all drums on downbeat, lone soprano, hall decay] [Mezzo-Soprano — pianissimo] The stone remembers. [End]
