[Intro] [soft piano plays alone] [distant clean guitar joins after 8 bars, soft female vocal, very gentle delivery] There are names that live in photographs, And names that fill a room. Names carried softly through the years, When someone leaves too soon. His friends all called him Johnny, Johnathan to his mom. But no matter how you knew him, You knew where you belonged. [Band enters gradually: deep bass, heavy drums and gritty distorted guitars; female vocal stays soft, close and restrained] [Verse 1: tender low-register female vocal, no rasp, no belting] He had thunder in the engine, Open highway in his blood. Two wheels beneath a restless heart, And tires throwing dust. He’d ride beside his brothers, With the daylight burning low. Every mile became a memory, Every road became a home. [Pre-Chorus: double fiddles rise beneath heavy guitars; vocal remains delicate and controlled] He left his mark on every life, More than words could ever say. And the ones who loved him carry it With every coming day. [Chorus: powerful gritty band, soft restrained female vocal, gentle melody, no shouting or belting] The thunder carries on, Long after the rider’s gone. In the roar of every engine, In the strength to carry on. He’s the fire in the hearts he raised, The guiding light that leads them home. Though he has passed beyond our sight, His thunder still rolls on. [Instrumental: emotional electric-guitar lead over punchy bass, with subtle banjo underneath] [Pre-Chorus: heavier guitars and answering double fiddles; quiet intimate female vocal] You can measure life in years gone by, Or the love that still remains. And the legacy he left behind Will carry through the pain. [Chorus: gritty guitars and heavy drums carry the power; female vocal stays soft and composed] The thunder carries on, Long after the rider’s gone. In the roar of every engine, In the strength to carry on. He’d ride beside his brothers, With the daylight burning low. Every mile became a memory, Every road became a home. [Breakdown: band fades away, leaving soft piano and lingering clean guitar] [Bridge: instrumental piano melody, no vocals] [Piano slowly builds as clean guitar swells underneath] [Build: drums, deep bass and double fiddles gradually return; instruments intensify while vocal stays almost whispered] No, that love is never gone… [Final Chorus: wide heavy guitars, punchy bass, soaring double fiddles and delicate harmonies; soft controlled female lead, no vocal climax, no belting] The thunder carries on, Long after the rider’s gone. In the roar of every engine, In every heart he made strong. He’d ride beside his brothers, With the daylight burning low. Every mile became a memory, Every road became a home. [Outro: soft piano, gentle banjo and one sustained electric guitar; intimate near-whispered female vocal] His memory lives in every heart, His love in everyone. And somewhere past the last horizon, The thunder carries on.
