[Intro: Layered synths burst]: [Baritone]: You’ve run from a thousand yesterdays But time still wants your name… Can you hear it Hear it screaming A fire inside A restless dreaming [Castrato hums a piercing 4-note ascending motif] [Verse I: Castrato over bouncy, regal harpsichord-synth hybrid]: I hear the doubt behind your stride You fake the joy, you hide the tide You're sprinting fast from things you know But every mirror cracks your show You can’t outrun what walks inside It’s you who turns, not time that lied [Pre-Chorus: Baritone comes in]: Not every chase will get you free Some ghosts are carved in memory But when the beat climbs up your spine, That’s your real self keeping time Oh no, I’ll keep on moving, Got to keep on grooving, [Chorus: Both: gospel layered harmonies, punchy arpeggios]: Don’t break my time...don’t steal my run I’m not undone, I’m just begun No chain of doubt, no haunted sea Can silence what’s still rising in me! (Ohhh...ahhh!) Take on me (take on me), Break my stride, I’m running free! Take on me (take on me), Ain’t nobody gonna stop this dream! [heavy glam stomp synth bass kicks, stardust synths flood the upper frequencies] [Verse II: Castrato, lighter now: almost taunting]: You thought you’d glitch into the past Like VHS would somehow last But even vintage pain rewinds And turns to dust in brighter minds [Pre-Chorus II: Baritone softer, redemptive]: You were never lost, just loud A broken clock still draws a crowd But if you dance instead of hide, The rhythm gives your truth a spine Oh no, I’ll keep on moving, Got to keep on grooving, [Chorus II: Even more harmonic layering, rapid staccato synths]: Don’t break my time...don’t kill the sound I’m more than fear, I’m rhythm-bound This soul’s not split, it’s just divine Refracted in a song that bends the line (You won't...break me) Take on me (take on me), Break my stride, I’m running free! Take on me (take on me), Ain’t nobody gonna stop this dream! [Bridge: Castrato and Baritone trade lines]: [Castrato, flying]: Your love’s the rhythm, the pulse in my soul, I’m reaching for the stars, I’m flying high! I ran too fast through who I am... [Baritone, resonant, patient]: But every echo still lands... Take on, take on, we’re making it whole! Oh, keep on moving, don’t you say goodbye! [Both]: If I’m the voice that sings you home, Then time can never break my bones Can you feel it Feel it breaking Through the cracks your heart is shaking In a day or two, we’ll write the sky, Love’s the stride that’ll never die! [Final Chorus: Orchestral burst, layered harmonies in full force]: Don’t break my time...it’s carved in shame I’m not a ghost, I have a name From fractured thought to crystal mind I’m dancing through the gears of time [Outro: Castrato full falsetto hold over baritone echo]: I’m still... in time... Oh-oh, take on me, Ain’t nobody gonna break my stride. Oh-oh, stride on me, In a day or two, I’ll be by your side. (Take on me, take on me, stride on me…)
