Paper Wings Anthem

[Intro] [Vocal: spoken male vocal, calm, close-mic] We are echoes of a thousand voices, thinking we’re the source of sound. [Verse 1] I see you writing like the page gonna burst into flame, But it’s paper in the dark, you just painting a name. You be stealing every spark just to hide that you tired, Every borrowed little line like a demo rewired. Your wings made of glue, like the ones on my back, But you praying to the likes like they pay you in fact. In your head it’s just a cloud full of other men’s lines, Throw a match in the system, watch your wings lose their shine. [Instrumental Break] [Band hits with stop-time, 808 drop and guitar stabs] [Chorus] [Vocal: gritty male and layered pop vocal, big melodic hook] You’re an actor in a bargain suit, I’m reflected in your eyes too, You pretend you’re breathing fire, burning what the others do. All this world is built from cardboard, just like wings we tape behind, Rip the mask off in the spotlight, try being honest for a time. Can you hear that hollow ringing? All these names are overblown, I’m somebody’s faded copy, just in love with what I own. [Solo] [High-energy synth and guitar unison riff] [Verse 2] You move heavy like you drew every sky, every street, But you walking through a hall full of secondhand feet. Every gesture just a trace from a video frame, Every breath that you take got another one’s name. Paper wings in your hands bending easy and slow, You’re as cardboard as I am, and it’s starting to show. You got lost in tiny dreams that you borrowed on loan, Now you choking on the scripts that you never wrote alone. [Pre-Chorus] [Brief drop, drums pull back, synths swell] [Chorus] [Vocal: maximum intensity, gang shouts and harmonies] You’re an actor in a bargain suit, I’m reflected in your eyes too, You pretend you’re breathing fire, burning what the others do. All this world is built from cardboard, just like wings we tape behind, Rip the mask off in the mirror, try being honest in your mind. Can you hear that hollow ringing? All these names are overblown, I’m your shadow in the doorway, just in love with what I own. [Verse 3] You don’t fly, you just pose with the feathers and glue, Staring hard at stolen words till they’re staring back at you. You a glitching generator, every beat out of sync, While the real one who was dreaming’s getting lost in the link. All the rhymes in your hands falling straight through the floor, Every line that you shout just a knocked-open door. We’re both puppets on a loop in a digital play, I broke through my reflection, will you ever break away? [Bridge] [Vocal: half-whisper rap and soaring lead] We’re just circuits in a network that nobody ever sees, Fragile wings in tangled code, fluttering on broken keys. I keep tearing off the polish, every pixel, every mask, See this script was always doubled, we were written for one task. [Chorus] [Final chorus, full band, key-lift] You’re an actor in a bargain suit, I’m reflected in your eyes too, You pretend you’re breathing fire, burning what the others do. All this world is built from cardboard, just like wings we tape behind, Rip the mask off, feel the air hit, let your own voice hit the line. Can you hear that hollow ringing? All these names are overblown, We’re just echoes in the feedback, but I’ll shout in my own tone. [Outro] [Vocal: low, distant, spoken] Forget the crowns and the flashing light, we’re the echo, never throne, Paper wings are always tearing when you try to fly alone. When the tape stops, when the hard drive turns to dust inside its frame, I’m just cardboard in the spotlight, but I own it, say my name. (Yeah… start creating…)