Rare and Reckless

[intro – clean guitar riff under distant feedback, drums building slowly] Rain on the wires, Smoke in the sun. Tell me what you’ll do With the time you’re running from. [verse 1 – restrained male vocal, tight driving rhythm] I woke up under broken clouds, With a siren in my chest. There were flowers growing through the cracks Like they never got the message. Everybody’s counting losses, Everybody’s saving breath. But I’ve been saving all my reasons For a life I haven’t lived yet. [pre-chorus – guitars open, drums rising] And I don’t want to vanish With my hands still clean. I don’t want to dream it And never leave the dream. [chorus – full band crash, soaring vocal] What will you do With this rare and reckless life? Will you bury the spark, Or hold it up tonight? We are rain and ruin, We are scars and light. If the world is going down, I’m going down alive. What will you do? What will you choose With this rare and reckless life? [verse 2 – punchier guitars, more grit] There’s a road past the wreckage, There’s a song beneath the noise. There’s a kid inside the mirror Still begging for a voice. I’ve been waiting for permission From a sky that never speaks. But the dead don’t need excuses, And the living don’t get peace. [pre-chorus – stronger, urgent] So I’ll take all the thunder, I’ll take all the heat. I’d rather burn awake Than disappear asleep. [chorus – bigger, layered harmonies] What will you do With this rare and reckless life? Will you bury the spark, Or hold it up tonight? We are rain and ruin, We are scars and light. If the world is going down, I’m going down alive. What will you do? What will you choose With this rare and reckless life? [post-chorus – gang vocal lift] Alive, alive, I’m going down alive. Alive, alive, With fire in my eyes. [bridge – clean guitar arpeggio, intimate vocal] Maybe heaven is a window In a boarded-up room. Maybe grace is just a flower That had no right to bloom. Maybe time is not a promise. Maybe breath is not a chain. Maybe I was not born Just to make it through the rain. [build – drums enter, vocal climbing] So bring the blackout. Bring the flood. Bring every fear I’ve been running from. I’ve got a heartbeat. I’ve got a name. I’ve got one match left, And I’m done saving flames. [final chorus – explosive, highest vocal lift, wide harmonies] What will you do With this rare and reckless life? Will you bury the spark, Or hold it up tonight? We are rain and ruin, We are scars and light. If the world is going down, I’m going down alive. What will you do When the dark starts asking why? Will you answer with ash, Or answer with sky? We are rain and ruin, But we still ignite. If the world is going down, I’m going down alive. [outro – guitars ringing, drums crashing then fading] Alive, alive, I’m going down alive. [final line – soft, resolved] With this rare and reckless life.