(Tempo: Slow & Emotional, ~68 BPM | Melancholic 80s Heartland Ballad) (Intro – 0:00 - 0:40)(A slow, somber piano melody plays alone. Heavy, warm keyboard pads slowly wash over the arrangement, creating a cinematic, wide-open nocturnal atmosphere) (Verse 1 – 0:40 - 1:10)(Rhythmic male vocalist, deep longing, restrained emotion) The city lights are just a distant hum I’m counting seconds till the morning comes I’ve walked these shadows for a thousand years And paid the price with all my honest tears I feel the distance growing in my soul It’s getting colder and I’m losing hold (Pre-Chorus – 1:10 - 1:35)(Drums enter with a slow, powerful heartland thump. Keyboards swell) Don't let the fire fade into the gray I can't survive another empty day (Chorus – 1:35 - 2:05)(Emotional crescendo, soaring vocals, sweeping rhythm) I TRADED EVERYTHING I USED TO OWN TO STAND IN DARKNESS AND I’M STANDING ALONE! THE LIGHT IS FADING AND MY HEART STILL ACHES OH, DON'T FORGET ME... BEFORE THE MORNING BREAKS! (Verse 2 – 2:05 - 2:35)(Piano and bass take the lead; drums are steady and subdued) I look at faces that I used to know They’re passing by me in the neon glow They’ll never see the creature I’ve become A broken promise on the rising run I threw away the keys to my own life (Pre-Chorus – 2:35 - 3:00)(Intensity builds; vocal power increases) Don't let the fire fade into the gray I can't survive another empty day (Chorus – 3:00 - 3:30)(Full dynamic explosion; vocalist crying into the mic) I TRADED EVERYTHING I USED TO OWN TO STAND IN DARKNESS AND I’M STANDING ALONE! THE LIGHT IS FADING AND MY HEART STILL ACHES OH, DON'T FORGET ME... BEFORE THE MORNING BREAKS! (Bridge – 3:30 - 3:55)(Drums stop; piano sustains. Vocal is sparse and despondent, high and clean) Don't let the shadows swallow what is true Is there a memory inside of you?(Beat snaps back in full force) (Final Chorus – 3:55 - 4:15)(Maximum volume and emotion) I TRADED EVERYTHING I USED TO OWN TO STAND IN DARKNESS AND I’M STANDING ALONE! THE LIGHT IS FADING AND MY HEART STILL ACHES OH, DON'T FORGET ME... BEFORE THE MORNING BREAKS! (Outro – 4:15 - 4:30)(The tempo slows down drastically. Piano notes linger. A single, melancholic saxophone note sustains and fades into silence) Before the morning breaks...
