The River Inside Your Chest

[Arrangement: Minimalist drum machine pulse, tape loops, ambient synth drone, experimental electric violin, deadpan spoken word transitioning to vocoder] [Intro] [Key: A Minor] [Arrangement: Hypnotic ticking pulse, swelling ambient synth drone, sparse electric violin plucks] [Am] [G/A] [Am] [Em/A] [Verse 1] [Key: A Minor] [Arrangement: Deadpan conversational female vocals, minimal bass synth, repetitive tape loop rhythm] [Am] You built the villa on the highest ridge. [G] You locked the iron gates. [Am] You stacked the coins up to the ledge. [F] You smile at the valley and say: [Am] "I am across the water now. [G] The current cannot reach my shoes." [Am] The lake below looks smooth as tin. [C] A glass mirror under a polite sun. [G] But you forgot to check the depth. [Pre-Chorus] [Key: F Major] [Arrangement: Introduction of electric violin drone, building rhythmic tension] [F] A quiet surface is a [G] clever thief. [Am] It hides the rocks. It hides the teeth. [F] You rowed your boat to a [G] distant shore, [Em] but you brought the weather inside your coat. [Chorus] [Key: D Minor] [Arrangement: Sudden dynamic shift, layered vocoder harmonies, driving mechanical pulse] [Dm] Across the water! [F] You think you made it to the bank! [C] You bought the land, but you [G] carry the tide! [Dm] The river isn't under the bridge— [F] the river is running inside your chest! [Dm] (Scream) You haven't crossed at all! [Dm] [Am] [C] [G] [Verse 2] [Key: A Minor] [Arrangement: Return to stripped-back deadpan vocals, glitchy tape loop textures, slow violin glissando] [Am] True security wears no padlock. [G] It doesn't hide behind a wall of gold. [Am] You sit dry on your velvet bench, [F] paralyzed by the fear of a single drop. [Am] You built a fortress out of isolation, [G] and called it peace. [Am] You called it safety. [Bridge] [Key: C Major] [Arrangement: Ethereal synth pads, sparse chord hits, highly intimate and robotic vocal layers intertwining] [C] The real voyage has no oars. [G] The real shore is not made of dirt. [Am] You cannot buy a pass across yourself. [F] Until you face the deep bottom of the heart, [C] you are still drowning in the shallow end. [C] [G] [Am] [F] [C] Unclench the hand. [G] (Whisper) Drop the weight. [Am] Step off the ledge. [G] (Whisper) Forgive the debt. [F] The only safe place is [G] open water. [Chorus] [Key: D Minor] [Arrangement: Maximum electronic density, harsh vocoder blasts over sweeping electric violin bowing] [Dm] Across the water! [F] You think you made it to the bank! [C] You bought the land, but you [G] carry the tide! [Dm] The river isn't under the bridge— [F] the river is running inside your chest! [Dm] (Scream) You haven't crossed at all! [Outro] [Key: A Minor] [Arrangement: Stripping away the beat, leaving only a fading synth drone and dry vocal echoes] [Am] No dry land on the map. [F] Only the internal threshold. [Am] Cross it or stay stranded. [Am] (Whisper) Across. [Am] [Am] [End]