
FATHER FIGURE [SSC8, United Kingdom]
[Intro – pristine, filtered vocal pitched +3 haunting, reversed piano like sonar, sub rumble, vast silence] (...safety — pitched) (reversed) (breath — low, lush) [Beat — mid-tempo, dreamy deep synths, wide stereo, lush underwater 808s, warm industrial texture] [Verse 1 – unique vocal — deep with nightcore edge (+3), gritty beautiful, talkative, expressive breaks, sick flow] I've been thinking lately — I was just a kid when I knew Not every home is safety Keep your promises, just tell me I'll make it out alive Not hand me a dull maybe For a moment I thought you had done enough Thought that was love — heh (pitched, break) Cigarette burns, palm pressed to the stove You got me weak on my knees and it was never enough You'll do it knowing I'll never get you caught Snitches get stitches — that's the love I was taught (breath — riding the lush groove) [Verse 2 – flow intensifies, deep but pitched, gritty ethereal, hot expressive breaks, reality check-drill delivery] You say I don't see your battles? It's hard for me to look at them I see pain and regret in these empty bottles I know you're trying your best for the fam — heh (distant, pitched, crack) You raise your hand at me, make me call you father Drop me to my knees, "boy go fetch me another" When I pick fights you never fight for me Said a dog's either collared or the dog's put down What does that make of me? I'm never supposed to be crying, real men don't feel Dug your teeth in my heart to see if I'm still a child Or the man you made is real When it comes to the hand that feeds You told me to never bite But how can I be a man when you won't let me fight? [Pre-Chorus – beat pulls back, vocal dry pitched, dreamy tension building] Ain't it blood thicker than water? What that mean to you, father? "You made me a fighter" — nah (pitched, sad, break) You made me a survivor [Chorus – full release, layered deep + nightcore vocals, dreamy synths swell, 808s knocking] You gave me a heart like a burner on high Then wondered why everything next to me dies It's a bitter religion, a beautiful sin To love the hand that keeps skinning my skin I'm the monument built to the child that you broke A mouthful of blood and a chest full of smoke I'm a survivor of a war that you won The ghost of a man inside the skin of your son You're the hand that feeds, I'm the teeth that ached How much of a child are you allowed to break? [Verse 3 – spoken-word intensity over dreamy groove, vocal shifting deep/pitched, hot breaks, reality check delivery] I thought every father knew the weight of his hands Told myself he'll stop every time the hand lands Faced the wall, learned I was small Fading like paint on a four-walled hall I played the saint so God would make you quit But the lighter sparks and the cigarette's lit Where am I from? The belt and the buckle The "I love you" hidden in a backhand I was six, I was ten (pitched, childlike, breaking) I knew love was just a lie back then Now I flinch at a hand raised to wave Didn't want a home — I just craved escape Now I'm reckless, studying your glance In every stranger who offers a chance [Bridge – stripped to voice and decaying piano, lush pads underneath, vocal fragile deep cracking into nightcore, hot breaks, then beat crashes back] I used to think every father came home with fire in his fists Thought love was just the space between his hits Then I saw a father pick up his son — not ghost him for months You were supposed to be the teacher Teach me how to trust, not dodge loaded guns You were supposed to be the preacher Show me that fathers love sons (voice cracks — pitched and raw) It don't sound real It don't feel real I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT FEELS (both voices, deep + pitched, then cut) [Final Pre-Chorus – building, unique vocal riding dreamy pocket, tension coiling] Ain't it blood thicker than water? I'm drowning in yours, father You stand so high— but God's higher [Final Chorus – everything, full peak, sick flow, lush dreamy industrial groove locked, layered unique vocals, reality check intensity] YOU GAVE ME A HEART LIKE A BURNER ON HIGH THEN WONDERED WHY EVERYTHING NEXT TO ME DIES IT'S A BITTER RELIGION, A BEAUTIFUL SIN TO LOVE THE HAND THAT KEEPS SKINNING MY SKIN I'M THE MONUMENT BUILT TO THE MAN THAT YOU BROKE A MOUTHFUL OF BLOOD AND A CHEST FULL OF SMOKE I'M A SURVIVOR OF A WAR THAT YOU WON THE GHOST OF A MAN INSIDE THE SKIN OF YOUR SON YOU'RE THE HAND THAT FEEDS, I'M THE TEETH THAT ACHED HOW MUCH OF A CHILD ARE YOU ALLOWED TO BREAK? [Outro – voice alone, deep + pitched blending, lush pads dissolve, then vast silence] I was just a kid when I knew Not every home is safety Still — I wished I could make it safely I wished I could save me (save me... — pitched, fading) (...) [silence]

