[start] [Intro: Low drones, bowed bass tones, soft toms echoing in irregular pulses—like heartbeat and ritual drum] [Verse 1] Cap and gown— weightless, he walks. Across the stage— a quiet sea. Top of the class, a voice prepared, turning a page no one will read. He scans the crowd— no pride, no light, just distant eyes like shuttered glass. [Instrumental space: sustained chord, tremolo guitar whispers behind the voice] [Chorus] Valedictorian— of nothing believed. First in a race they never ran. He speaks of hope, but faces fade— each step he takes confirms the fall. [Verse 2] Father lost— in scripture’s cage. Mother bows— to silent air. The parchment burns, a holy sin; he holds it tight, the poison seeps within. [Bridge: percussion slows, each beat like a tolling bell; melody hovers on a single modal center] He worked for love— that wore a mask. Climbed for sight— but none looked back. They pray for his soul, as he holds up the prize, their mercy sharp, their faith unkind. [Chorus: now sung in rising harmony, chords shifting in parallel fourths and fifths] Valedictorian— of nothing believed. First in a race they never ran. All he built was meant to break. Every truth they’d have him forsake. [Outro: pulse dissolves, only voice and distant harmonic drone remain] He hides the scroll— a child’s dream dies. Funeral quiet, in paper light. He walks away— empty hands, static veins, and the scream unheard. The noise ascends— breaking seams. The boy is gone. Only the echo remains. [end]
