OVERTURE (instrumental idea) Fast 6/8 strings in Em, brass stabs on G–D–Em, choir on “ahh” outlining Em–C–D, timpani rolls, harp gliss when the crystal appears. --- Verse 1 Chords: Em – C – G – D (6/8, driving) You open your hand on the launch deck light, And there in your palm is a frozen sky. A crystal humming with a thousand fights, Every flame trail traced across your eyes. The sirens sing in a minor key, The crew moves slow while your pulse runs fast. You close your fist like a rosary, Another mission, another past. Pre-Chorus Chords: C – G – D – Em You say, “If I fall, I’ll just change the frame, Walk on the walls, call it a different plane.” Upside down’s only another line, Turn the world over, I still know it’s mine. Chorus Chords: Em – C – G – D – Em – C – D – Em What are pilots like? They crush the crystal and watch the light ignite, Ride the shockwave up through a bleeding night, Lock a spiral with a steel-bird’s bite. What are pilots like? They dance on the sides of the sky’s old walls, Chasing contrails where the dead stars fall, In an F-35, answering the call— Win the dogfight, Again and again, Again and again. --- Verse 2 Chords: Em – C – G – D You thread your wings through a lattice of flares, Like a needle stitching through heaven’s skin. G-force writes its scripture in your ribs, But your mind stays clear as a violin. The HUD blooms green like a floating rune, Targets flicker like forgotten names. You whisper, “Sorry,” to the distant plume, Then bank hard left through a door of flame. Pre-Chorus Chords: C – G – D – Em Up is a rumor, down is a dare, You just choose a vector and call it air. Every roll is just another chance, To show that gravity can’t lead this dance. Chorus Chords: Em – C – G – D – Em – C – D – Em What are pilots like? They crush the crystal and feel the world divide, One half terror, one half pride, All of it burning on the inside. What are pilots like? They skim the edge where the black begins, Hear the choir in the howling wind, In an F-35 taught to spin and spin— Win the dogfight, Again and again, Again and again. --- Bridge (Opera / FF-style, big modulation feel) Chords: Am – Em – C – G – D Open your hand in the cockpit glow, See another crystal, smaller now. Every battle, every narrow pass, Sleeping in a shard of glass. Am Em If I crush it, will the echoes fade? C G Or loop forever in the turns I made? Am Em Is this courage or a spell I’m under, C D Riding thunder, borrowing thunder? (Choir joins on “Ah—ah—ah” over Am–Em–C–D, strings swirling like “Festival of the Hunt.”) --- Final Chorus (bigger, more choral) Chords: Em – C – G – D – Em – C – D – Em What are pilots like? They crush the crystal and step into the roar, Leave their footprints on a phantom floor, Where “up” and “down” don’t matter anymore. What are pilots like? They write their names in the vapor trails, Turn near-death into children’s tales, In an F-35 where the balance fails— Choir + Duo: Win the dogfight, Again and again, Again and again. Tag Chords: C – G – D – Em You open your hand when the engines die, One last crystal, one last sky. You close your fist, whisper to the night, “What are pilots like?” (Orchestra holds Em, choir fades on a high E.)
