[Hook – bare hand drums; dry shaker enters after first line and grows into a clear syncopated pulse] What did we keep? What did we leave? What did we become when nobody could see? We learned how to build We learned how to bleed Somewhere along the way we forgot what we need Oh, what did we become? Mm… What did we become? [Verse 1 – shaker drops out; sparse hand drum pulses only] They say there was a time you could leave your door unlocked A stranger at the table wasn’t something you would question Maybe they remember it kinder Maybe that’s what people do But there had to be something worth carrying through [shaker re-enters softly, weaving between the vocal phrases] Now everybody’s talking Nobody says much Got the whole world in our hands Still can’t seem to touch [Pre-Chorus – shaker becomes clearer and wider; hand drums remain sparse] Years don’t wait They just go We keep what we want Lose what we don’t know we lost [Hook – hand drums and prominent shaker interlock; shaker clearly audible around the vocal] What did we keep? What did we leave? What did we become when nobody could see? We learned how to build We learned how to bleed Somewhere along the way we forgot what we need Oh, what did we become? Mm… What did we become? [Verse 2 – shaker continues as a light uneven pulse beneath sparse drums] We put towers in the clouds Put our names across the sky Found a thousand ways to live And a thousand ways to die A child learns the sound of sirens before the birds outside Another mother shuts the curtains and tells him he’ll be fine Gold still buys a clean hand if the pocket runs deep And truth gets dressed for whoever can afford to make it speak Still— somebody shares their bread Somebody opens the door Somebody sees a stranger hurting and doesn’t ask what for [Pre-Chorus – drums pull back; shaker briefly carries the pulse alone] Years don’t wait They just go But everything we lose ain’t gone [Hook – full organic hand drums and layered shakers] What did we keep? What did we leave? What did we become when nobody could see? We learned how to build We learned how to bleed Somewhere along the way we forgot what we need Oh, what did we become? Mm… What did we become? [Bridge – drums disappear; exposed dry shaker pulse under the vocal] I don’t want the old world back It wasn’t innocent Blood was spilled then too Men lied then too But somewhere behind us there are things we shouldn’t have left A little mercy A little shame A hand that didn’t ask your name Take those Leave the rest [Instrumental break – SHAKER FEATURE: layered dry shakers in shifting patterns, answered by single deep hand-drum strikes; no drum kit] (Leave the rest…) (Take what is good…) (Mm…) [Final Hook – hand drums and shakers fully interlocked, shaker bright and clearly exposed in the mix] What will we keep? What will we leave? What will they inherit from you and me? We learned how to build We learned how to bleed Maybe we can still remember what it means to be— Human [shakers continue alone] Mm… Just human.
