[INTRO — distant industrial ambience, vinyl crackle, low 808 heartbeat] [Shakuhachi breath drifts over resonator guitar] [Speakeasy piano enters — slow, dirty, bluesy] [Female vocal — low, weathered whisper] Still here... [Taiko strike] Still standing. [Distorted guitar SLAMS IN] --- [VERSE 1 — female lead, low smoky rasp] [Driving bass • outlaw drums • resonator guitar • shamisen accents] Built from fire, wired in skin, Every damn war—I walked back in. They gave me numbers, gave me names, Tried like hell to make me change. [Dark fiddle creeps underneath] Boots in ash, blood on steel, You learn damn fast what's fake and real. Every breath that fills these lungs Was fought for hard—not handed down. --- [PRE-CHORUS — female vocal rising, increasingly aggressive] [War drums building • koto pulse • distorted guitar climbing] I DON'T PRAY. [Low male Viking chant: HEY!] I DON'T BOW. [Taiko: BOOM — BOOM] You wanted silence? HEAR ME NOW. --- [CHORUS — huge female belt] [Full distorted guitars • double-kick drums • cinematic choir • brass punches] I'M STILL STANDING IN THE AFTERBURN! Every scar's another lesson learned! Burn the road— BURN THE GROUND— I'M THE ONE YOU COULDN'T KEEP DOWN! [Gang vocals: STILL STANDING!] Let the whole damn skyline fall— I've walked through worse, I'VE SEEN IT ALL! You can swear that I am gone— [Female lead + choir] I'LL BE HERE WHEN YOU'RE GONE! --- [POST-CHORUS — outlaw/Viking rhythmic chant] [Banjo • distorted bass • stomps • handclaps • war drums] Still standing. [Male chant: HO!] Still breathing. [Male chant: HO!] Still fighting. [Female growled vocal] Still fucking here. --- [VERSE 2 — swaggering female vocal] [Funk bass • wah guitar • dirty piano • trap hi-hats] Steel in my hands, ghosts in my head, Old promises still painted red. I quit chasing what I've outgrown— I fight like hell for what I own. [Erhu answers vocal] I've lost friends. I've lost years. Fed the dirt with blood and tears. [Drums tighten] But every ghost that knows my name Knows I walked straight through the flame. --- [PRE-CHORUS 2 — female lead + male responses] [Taiko • Nordic drums • rising guitar feedback] You can doubt— [Male chant: LET 'EM!] You can lie— [Male chant: LET 'EM!] I didn't come this goddamn far TO ASK PERMISSION TO SURVIVE! --- [CHORUS — heavier, faster] [Double-kick • Southern guitar • taiko • orchestra • mixed choir] I'M STILL STANDING IN THE AFTERBURN! Every scar's another lesson learned! Break the chains— BURN THE MAP— THERE AIN'T NO ROAD THAT TAKES ME BACK! [Gang vocals: STILL STANDING!] Let tomorrow twist and turn— I've still got bridges left to burn! You can carve my name in stone— I'LL BE HERE WHEN YOU'RE GONE! --- [BREAKDOWN — instruments suddenly CUT] [Single speakeasy piano] [Vinyl crackle • distant thunder] [Female vocal — intimate, exhausted, completely exposed] If I fall... I fall awake. Every loss became something I could take. I don't need your crown... your throne... [Quiet breath] I learned a long damn time ago— I can rise... alone. --- [GLITCH TRANSITION — vocal fragments stutter] [808 sub enters • shamisen chopped through distortion] Rise—rise—rise— [Digital glitch] STAND. --- [RAP / WAR CADENCE — female vocal, fast rhythmic rasp] [Trap beat • Viking drums • funk bass • shamisen • industrial percussion] Ash on the jacket, mud on the boot, Truth in the blood and fire at the root. No king, no master, no chain on me, Built my damn road where none could see. Steel meets bone— Bass hits low— Ghosts behind me wherever I go. I don't need fate to understand— [All instruments stop] I'M STILL— [Massive war-drum strike] STANDING! --- [FINAL CHORUS — maximum intensity] [Full orchestra • screaming guitars • taiko • Nordic drums • choir • double-kick] I'M STILL STANDING IN THE AFTERBURN! WATCH THE WHOLE DAMN FUTURE TURN! Every wound— Every scar— ONLY SHOWS ME WHO WE ARE! [Female lead + massive gang vocals: STILL STANDING!] Burn my history! Break my throne! Try to erase my name from stone! When the smoke clears— WHEN NIGHT IS GONE— [Choir rising] I'LL BE HERE! [Gang vocals: STILL HERE!] I'LL BE HERE! [Gang vocals: STILL HERE!] I'LL BE HERE— WHEN YOU'RE GONE! --- [OUTRO — guitars ringing into feedback] [War drums gradually become a heartbeat] [Shakuhachi and erhu return over distant speakeasy piano] [Female vocal — weathered, quiet] Still standing. [Low male choir] Still standing. [Female whisper] You couldn't finish me. [Single resonator-guitar slide] Not even close.
