[Intro – ambient synth wash, distant ticking, soft strings] [Verse 1 – whispered/sung, sparse piano and swelling pads] I watched the petals turn to dust The mirror held no fight The golden hours I let go past Fell softly out of sight I kept the wine upon the shelf I feared the flame would burn But cold and safe is not a life It’s just a long return [Chorus – full strings, pulsing synth bass, layered vocals] Gather ye rosebuds While ye may Old Time flies And will not stay The flower smiled Then slipped away I should have danced I should have stayed [Instrumental – orchestral crescendo, ticking warps into low synth swells] [Verse 2 – darker tone, minor chord shift] The sun climbed high, I shut the blinds Afraid of what I’d find But every day I waited out I left myself behind A hundred paths, I feared to choose Each bloom I let decay And now my garden only holds The ghosts I turned away [Bridge – stark, vocal distortion, filtered drums] Youth is not a season It’s a war with time And silence was treason I mistook for rhyme [Instrumental violin solo] [Chorus – more powerful, choir textures added] Gather ye rosebuds While ye may Old Time flies And fades the day The fire burns Then falls to grey I should have loved I should have stayed Lord, I should have stayed… [Instrumental interlude] [Outro – slow orchestral fade, broken clock sounds, soft reversed vocals] (You never know it’s fading) (‘Til you try to rewind) [Instrumental fade out]
