[Intro 8] (solo female voice, unaccompanied, raw, no instruments — low keening on "Oooohhhhh" with slight vibrato, D Dorian) Oooohhhhh... Oooohhhhh... [Verse 1 16] (solo voice with low whistle drone only, intimate but powerful, close-mic'd, breath audible, long vowel sounds held) I was not always this — A voice without a body, A cry without a throat, A warning nobody heeds. I was a woman once. I had a name. I had a daughter. (harp enters, single rolled chords) They took her from the cliffside, They took her from the shore, They left me nothing but the sea And the knowing evermore. [Pre 8] (bodhrán heartbeat enters, fiddle enters low and sustained, voice builds slightly in intensity, vibrato increases) And now I feel the pulling — The thread that snaps too soon, The candle guttering in the window, The drowning of the moon. I feel it in my marrow, I feel it in my blood, The moment that a life will end — And I must sing it loud. [Chorus 16] (FULL ENSEMBLE — layered SSAA harmonies enter, chest belting lead, uilleann pipes drone swells, bodhrán driving, fiddle counter-melody, Celtic harp shimmer) I WAIL! For the ones who will not hear me, I WAIL! For the ones who turn away, I WAIL! For the daughter and the mother, I WAIL! For the debt that none can pay! (descant harmony rises above lead, modulating upward) And the night will take her home, And the sea will take her bones, And I'll sing until the morning breaks Alone, alone, alone! [Verse 2 16] (stripped back — solo voice, low whistle drone, sparse Celtic harp only, vulnerable, almost spoken in places) They think I am a monster. They cross themselves and run. But I am just a messenger — I am not the gun. I do not deal the killing blow, I do not choose the day, I only know the moment comes — And I must point the way. (bodhrán returns softly, fiddle enters sustained) My keening is a mercy, A lantern in the dark, A chance to say the words you never said, A chance to leave your mark. [Pre 8] (building — fiddle, uilleann pipes entering, bodhrán intensifying, voice rising in power) So do not curse my singing, Do not plug your ears, I am the last true honest thing Before the ending nears. I am the space between the beats, The silence and the scream, I am the voice that calls you home — The waking from the dream! [Chorus 16] (FULL POWER — all voices, maximum chest belt, identical to first chorus plus descant harmony a third above, uilleann pipes in full, bodhrán driving) I WAIL! For the ones who will not hear me, I WAIL! For the ones who turn away, I WAIL! For the daughter and the mother, I WAIL! For the debt that none can pay! (descant harmony soars, modulating upward) And the night will take her home, And the sea will take her bones, And I'll sing until the morning breaks Alone, alone, alone! [Bridge 12] (everything drops — solo voice, low whistle drone only, devastating quiet, authentic keening vocables: "Ochón" and "Airiú" interspersed with lyrics, voice breaks then steadies) I sang for my own daughter. (silence, breath) I sang her name into the wind. I sang until my throat was raw. I sang until I could not sing. (voice breaks, then steadies) Ochón... ochón... (silence) And no one came. (long pause, breath) Airiú... airiú... And no one ever comes. [Silence: 1s] [Final Chorus 20] (KEY MODULATION to E Dorian — full ensemble, all harmonies, uilleann pipes at full drone, bodhrán driving hard, fiddle soaring, Celtic harp shimmering, four-part vocal split, maximum vocal power, chest belt pushed to limit) I WAIL! For the ones who cannot hear me, I WAIL! For the ones who look away, I WAIL! For the daughter and the mother, I WAIL! For the debt I'll always pay! (harmonies soar, layered, modulating, four voices splitting) And the night will take them home, And the sea will take their bones, And I'll sing until the morning breaks — (voices split into four-part harmony) A-LONE! A-LONE! A-LONE! (final note held, all voices, then cut to silence) [Outro 8] (solo voice, no instruments, whispered, fading, drone slowly decays beneath) ...I am still singing. (drone fades to nothing)
