Vocal: Female lead, contralto–alto range. Grounded, intimate, controlled intensity. Earthy tone with subtle rasp. Key: Em → G Tempo: ~82 BPM Time Signature: 4/4 ⸻ [Intro] (Em) (low rhythmic strum, ember crackle ambience, distant bowed fiddle) ⸻ [Verse 1] (Em) I thought I lost it in the dead of the winter (low, close vocal) (C) Buried so deep I couldn’t remember (steady guitar pulse) (G) What it felt like to carry that flame (faint harmonic swell) (D) Or even speak my own name ⸻ [Verse 2] (Em) But something stayed where the cold couldn’t reach (slight lift) (C) Down in the marrow, under the grief (low fiddle texture enters) (G) Not loud, not wild, not begging to burn (controlled phrasing) (D) Just waiting… patient… for me to return ⸻ [Pre-Chorus] (C) And I felt it flicker (instrumentation pulls back) (D) Like breath against ash ⸻ [Chorus — Hook Established] (G) Oh, the fire… it never left me (low harmony enters) (D) Just quiet beneath the debris (Em) Not a blaze, not a raging sound (C) Just a heat that stayed underground (G) And it’s mine… still alive… (D) The fire in me ⸻ [Verse 3] (Em) I don’t need sparks to prove I’m burning (rhythm slightly stronger) (C) Don’t need eyes just to feel me turning (mandolin tremble introduced) (G) There’s a strength in a slow rebuild (steadier vocal) (D) In a flame that bends but never yields ⸻ [Verse 4] (Em) I’ve walked through silence thicker than smoke (slightly darker tone) (C) Carried the weight of words never spoke (pause between phrases) (G) But deep in the hollow it survived (gentle swell, grounded delivery) (D) A heat I could never deny ⸻ [Pre-Chorus] (C) And I’m not afraid now (build begins) (D) Of what wakes inside ⸻ [Chorus — Fuller] (G) Oh, the fire… it never left me (fuller harmony, deeper resonance) (D) Just quiet beneath the debris (Em) Not a blaze, not a raging sound (C) Just a heat that stayed underground (G) And it’s mine… still alive… (D) The fire in me ⸻ [Bridge — Emotional Core] (Em) I carried it through every silence (strip to guitar only) (C) Through the weight, through the violence (raw, exposed vocal) (G) I was never as empty as it seemed (slow, deliberate) (D) Just holding a match I couldn’t yet see (C) No, I don’t need flames to be stronger (slight lift) (D) I’ve been burning steady all along ⸻ [Final Chorus — Lift + Resolution] (G) Oh, the fire… it’s rising in me (strongest vocal, still controlled) (D) Not loud, but it’s finally free (Em) Not a blaze tearing through the night (C) Just a steady, unwavering light (G) And it’s mine… I survived… (D) The fire in me ⸻ [Outro] (Em) (return to low strum, ember crackle fades) Mm… Still burning… Mm…
