(Intro: Solo Oud with a reverb-heavy, hollow tone) (Acoustic Verse 1) The skyscrapers lean like broken old men Whispering secrets of how it was then The gardens are iron, the rivers are lead And the ghosts of the city have nowhere to tread The silence is heavy, a blanket of rust We’re building our kingdoms on pillars of dust. (Chorus) Oh, the sun is a cold, mechanical eye Watching the dreams of the weary go by In the hollows of stone, in the shadows of glass We wait for the shadows of empires to pass It’s a beautiful ruin, a long, quiet night We’re chasing the ghosts of a flickering light. (Acoustic Verse 2) The wind plays a song on the ribs of the train Washing the soot with a chemical rain There’s no one in the plaza, no feet on the floor Just the rattling latch of a forgotten door But deep in the rubble, a single green leaf Is staging a riot against all our grief. [Instrumental Solo] (Bridge: Oud intensifies into rapid "rasgueado" strumming) The wires are humming a song with no words The sky is a cage with no room for the birds But the heart is an engine that refuses to die Even when darkness has swallowed the sky! (Oud Solo - Melancholic and Flamenco-inspired) (Chorus) Oh, the sun is a cold, mechanical eye Watching the dreams of the weary go by In the hollows of stone, in the shadows of glass We wait for the shadows of empires to pass It’s a beautiful ruin, a long, quiet night We’re chasing the ghosts of a flickering light. (Outro: Slow, fading Oud notes) Neon dust... In the hollow... The light... (End with a final, resonant low string pluck)
