Nøcturnal - Cøllapse

[Intro — Female, distant, almost spoken] I thought taking it off would make me breathe. I didn't know what was holding everything up. [Verse 1 — Female, low, intimate, restrained] I kept it together because nobody asked what it took to do it Kept every answer close enough to use and far enough to lose it I knew where to stand I knew what to say I knew how to leave without making a scene Every part had a purpose Every part had a place Until the pieces started moving on me I felt it in the silence Before I heard a sound Something underneath me Was already giving out [Pre-Chorus — Female, intimate, building] One crack. Then another. I could feel it coming through. I held my breath. Held everything. But there was nothing left to hold it to. [Chorus — Female, wide, controlled intensity] Let it collapse. Let it fall where it wants to fall. I don't have to hold what was never built to last. Let it collapse. Every wall. Every line. Every version of me I kept alive. If there's nothing left when it all comes down— Then maybe that's what was underneath. [Verse 2 — Female, darker, rhythmic] The room looks different when there's nowhere left to hide No frame around the picture No distance from the light I see every little failure I edited away Every word I swallowed Every part I rearranged I used to call it discipline I used to call it control But some things only stay standing when you never let them move And now the weight is shifting I can feel it in my chest Not fear of what is coming Fear that this is what is left [Pre-Chorus — Female, restrained, rising] One crack. Then another. I can hear it through the walls. I kept building over everything. Now everything is falling through. [Chorus — Female, wider, more emotional] Let it collapse. Let it fall where it wants to fall. I don't have to hold what was never built to last. Let it collapse. Every wall. Every line. Every version of me I kept alive. If there's nothing left when it all comes down— Then maybe that's what was underneath. [Bridge — Female, stripped, close and intimate] Don't put it back. Don't fix the pieces. Don't give me another shape to disappear inside. I don't want another face. I don't want another answer. I want to know what remains when nothing is protecting it. [Silence] [Female — almost whispered] I can't hold it. I can't stop it. So let it fall. [Breakdown — Female, fragmented, increasingly unstable] The walls— The weight— The noise— The years— Everything I kept above the surface— Coming down. [Whispered] Let it. [Build — Female, gradually becoming more forceful] I was holding the ceiling. Let it fall. I was carrying the weight. Let it fall. I was keeping everything alive. Let it fall. What if there's nothing underneath? [Pause] Then find out. [Final Chorus — Female lead, huge, raw, emotional] Let it collapse. Let it fall where it wants to fall. I don't have to hold what was never built to last. Let it collapse. Every wall. Every line. Every version of me I kept alive. If there's nothing left when it all comes down— Then let me see what was underneath. [Female — layered, raw] Let it fall. Let it fall. Let it fall. I don't need to be what held it up. [Final impact] Let it collapse.