Dark Ring Around the Rosie

[Intro - eerie, slow violin drone with distant children's whispers and tolling bell] Ring around the rosie… [Verse 1 - low, dark acoustic guitar with haunting fiddle undertones] Ring around the rosie, a pocket full of posies Children holding hands in the plague-ridden streets Ashes, ashes, they all fall down But some never got back up from the ground [Pre-Chorus - building tension with low strings and soft choral hum] The flowers were a lie to hide the smell of death The circle was a prayer, but no one was left [Chorus - soaring dark melodic hook with powerful belts and electric fiddle shred] Ring around the rosie, ashes in the air Ring around the rosie, no one left to care Ring around the rosie, falling to the ground Ring around the rosie, death is all around [Verse 2 - faster tempo with distorted guitar and frantic fiddle runs] They sang it in the village, they sang it in the square Mothers clutching babies with the sickness in their stare Posies in their pockets, but the plague still took its share One by one they tumbled, gasping for the air [Pre-Chorus - heavier build with pounding drums and rising choral chant] The bells were ringing, the bells were tolling low The children kept on circling, but the circle had to go [Chorus - soaring dark melodic hook with powerful belts and electric fiddle shred] Ring around the rosie, ashes in the air Ring around the rosie, no one left to care Ring around the rosie, falling to the ground Ring around the rosie, death is all around [Bridge - stripped to solo haunting violin solo, then explosive full band + shredding fiddle] They thought the flowers would save them, thought the song would heal But the rosie was a promise that the plague would steal Now the circle's empty, the ashes drift away And the children are just echoes in the night they play [Final Chorus - biggest dark soaring hook with layered harmonies and wild electric fiddle solo] Ring around the rosie, ashes in the air (in the air!) Ring around the rosie, no one left to care (no one left!) Ring around the rosie, falling to the ground Ring around the rosie… death is all around [Outro - fading solo violin over tolling bells and whispers] Ashes… ashes… they all fall down… Ring around the rosie…