"Carla’s Grace" [Interlude - Sam (female)] (A warm, gentle acoustic guitar picks a slow, soulful melody. A soft piano chord echoes in the background. Spoken word, full of respect and quiet awe.) She was a small woman in size, but her heart was an absolute fortress. Carla never raised hell, never touched a drop of alcohol, never chased the dark. She loved history, anthropology, and her family. But when her son’s world shattered into a million pieces, she didn't run. She stood in the middle of a war zone, surrounded by the worst of the drug world, and she just loved him through the pain. [Verse 1 - Matt (male)] (A clean electric guitar joins the acoustic. Matt's voice is raw, stripped of the anger, full of deep regret and love.) She was an angel walking on a dirty wood floor Never touched the poison, never asked for more She raised me up right with a steady, wise hand But my mind cracked open and I ruined the land When my dad passed away, the foundation fell Then Madison died, and I snapped into hell I took the woman who gave me my life and my name And I dragged her right into the center of the flame. [Pre-Chorus - Matt (male) & Sam (female)] (A steady, mid-tempo drumbeat kicks in. Bass swells underneath.) (Matt - male) I went completely blind... (Sam - female) ...he was running on the edge. (Matt - male) I left my mind behind... (Sam - female) ...pushed her right up to the ledge. [Chorus - Matt (male) & Sam (female)] (The music swells into a heavy, emotional Southern rock ballad. Full, rich sound, but soaring rather than aggressive.) (Matt - male) We turned a quiet home into a heavy trap house! (Sam - female) Bringing the devil right into the living room! (Matt - male) Me, the nephews, and the buddies spinning round, (Sam - female) Filling up the hallways with the toxic gloom! (Matt - male) I brought the absolute worst of the underground street, (Both) And she took it all in stride without missing a beat! [Verse 2 - Matt (male)] (The music drops back down to just the bass, drums, and acoustic guitar. The vocal delivery is storytelling—intimate and confessing.) It was the ugliest scene that you ever could find But my momma was awesome, she was one of a kind She’d walk through the smoke, through the noise and the haze Find my glass pipes and the drugs on the trays She didn't scream, didn't yell, didn't call on the law She just picked up the pieces of the madness she saw She’d walk right up to me, hand the stash to my chest, Give me that scornful look that she always did best. She'd look in my eyes, soft but sharp as a knife, Say, "I know you better than this way of life." [Pre-Chorus - Matt (male) & Sam (female)] (The electric guitars start to build back up, crying with emotion.) (Matt - male) She didn't see the crime... (Sam - female) ...she didn't judge the sin. (Matt - male) She looked past the grime... (Sam - female) ...and saw the broken boy within. [Chorus - Matt (male) & Sam (female)] (Maximum emotion. Huge cymbals, powerful vocal harmonies.) (Matt - male) We turned a quiet home into a heavy trap house! (Sam - female) Bringing the devil right into the living room! (Matt - male) Me, the nephews, and the buddies spinning round, (Sam - female) Filling up the hallways with the toxic gloom! (Matt - male) I brought the absolute worst of the underground street, (Both) And she took it all in stride without missing a beat! [Bridge - Matt (male)] (A soaring, weeping slide guitar solo plays for four bars, transitioning into Matt singing with everything he has.) She knew I was bleeding from a hole in my soul! She knew that the sorrow had taken control! She stood in the hurricane, tiny and brave, Refusing to let her son dig his own grave! Mom, I’m so sorry for the hell that I gave. [Outro - Sam (female) & Matt (male)] (The drums and heavy guitars stop. The piano and acoustic guitar return, playing a soft, beautiful lullaby-like melody.) (Sam - female - singing softly) The house is quiet now. The shadows are gone. (Matt - male - spoken softly, voice breaking slightly) I love you, Mom. You were the only angel in that house. (A single, resonant piano chord rings out and slowly fades into absolute silence.)
