[VERSE 1 — close-mic, low and reflective / narrow stereo / deep bass, rim clicks, soft skank] Remember the days I would make myself shrink trying not to take up too much room I didn’t know exactly where I was going I just knew I couldn’t stay where I was I still remember and it don’t hurt or sting Every road, every turn was part of my journey I’m speaking from a place of introspection I’ve been in the dark before And by far my biggest dub was crushing doubt at its core [PRE-HOOK — drums thin / tape echo begins to widen] And you may be okay with all that but I had to bring my soul back to its tracks I couldn’t live becoming what the room required changing shape just to be admired I’d rather live so rooted in myself that what I carry might help somebody else Not changing for the world to understand me but becoming whole enough to contribute freely [HOOK — simple rising melody / shoegaze bloom / soft communal harmonies] Rise with a simple word Rise without having to reword Rise and let yourself be heard right here in front of the world Take your time take your turn Let them see what you’ve become Every step every scar every dream brought you this far This is your du-u-ub [dub… ub… pans L→R] Your name, your sound, your love This is your dub [VERSE 2 — deeper one-drop pocket / bass forward / subtle granular flickers] I dubbed the war inside my head before I ever dubbed the world I was disappearing into myself watching all my edges curl Every room became a question every voice another weight A mind can build an unseen prison then that same mind can find the gate My first crown was peace of mind that’s where my metamorphosis began I broke the chains I couldn’t see and met the person I’d become So if you ask me what my biggest dub is it was never being known It was learning how to live inside myself and finally calling it home [home… home… distant ping-pong echo] [PRE-BRIDGE — bass and rim only / spoken-sung, behind the beat] I dubbed the rules— I never chose Dubbed the need to fit their mold Turns out winning wasn’t fitting in— it was finding what was always whole [melody begins to climb] I stopped measuring my worth by the rooms that let me in I found peace in being different and that’s where I began again [BRIDGE — beat nearly disappears / extreme ambient ear movement / guitars slowly open] I learned to shiiiine [reverse breath R→L] inside first [first… tiny granular echo] Then became a bea-ea-con [shoegaze bloom opens wide] for whoever needed light [light… ping-pong delay] [half-beat silence] I stopped asking every shadow [whisper “shadow” far left] if I had the right to glo-o-ow Once I learned to trust the light in me [light-light-light micro-stutter] I finally had some light to show [HOOK-HEIGHT — drums return softly / widest stereo image] This is your du-u-ub [DUB fragments ricochet across stereo] not the noise not the name but the light you learned to carry before anybody knew your flame [flame… reverse tail into guitars] Not because you never fell not because the road was smooth but because somewhere in the dark you found your way back to you [POST-BRIDGE — mantra / sparse communal voices / long dub echoes] Become. Contribute. Dub. Become who you are Contribute what you carry Let the win be bigger than the name they give you Become. Contribute. Dub. [OUTRO — huge ambient shoegaze wash / bass remains centered] My first crown was peace of mind I learned to shine inside first then became a beacon for whoever needed light This is your dub [dub… dub… dub… dissolving across the room]
