Wake Me Real
gothic metal, 104 BPM, F minor, descending piano riff alone for 4 bars, orchestral strings entering on bar 5, heavy down-tuned guitar on beat 1 with half-time stomp drum pattern on verses — verse sparse and intimate piano and strings carrying weight guitars pulled back, [Chorus: full wall-of-sound explosion — down-tuned guitars and orchestral strings and pounding drums simultaneously at maximum, soprano cutting through the top of the wall], [electric violin: slow sustained building E string fff wide arm vibrato full distortion 8 bars as second calling voice in call and response with soprano before final chorus], [Bridge: piano alone under voice stripping everything back to the opening texture], piano riff returning strings then guitar fading on outro, target length 3:30, bright coloratura soprano whispered and intimate on verses — the dynamic gap between quiet verse and explosive chorus IS the song, chorus sung at full operatic power over the wall of sound, female vocal, F minor
Wake Me Real
gothic metal, 104 BPM, F minor, descending piano riff alone for 4 bars, orchestral strings entering on bar 5, heavy down-tuned guitar on beat 1 with half-time stomp drum pattern on verses — verse sparse and intimate piano and strings carrying weight guitars pulled back, [Chorus: full wall-of-sound explosion — down-tuned guitars and orchestral strings and pounding drums simultaneously at maximum, soprano cutting through the top of the wall], [electric violin: slow sustained building E string fff wide arm vibrato full distortion 8 bars as second calling voice in call and response with soprano before final chorus], [Bridge: piano alone under voice stripping everything back to the opening texture], piano riff returning strings then guitar fading on outro, target length 3:30, bright coloratura soprano whispered and intimate on verses — the dynamic gap between quiet verse and explosive chorus IS the song, chorus sung at full operatic power over the wall of sound, female vocal, F minor
Lyrics
Intro
haunting piano riff alone, 104 BPM, F minor, then orchestral strings entering, then crushing heavy guitars crashing in — the contrast between the classical opening and the metal drop is the production
Verse 1
gothic metal, soprano over heavy production, intimate and building
How did you see
all the way through me
when I had hidden
everything
I had become so good
at feeling nothing
I had forgotten
that nothing
was not the goal
Something was sleeping
somewhere cold inside
and you walked
right past the lock
on it
Pre-Chorus
strings swelling, guitar building
Wake me up
I can't wake up alone
Call my name
lead me back from where
I disappeared to
Chorus
FULL GOTHIC METAL DROP — crushing guitars and strings and drums all together, soprano cutting through
Wake me real
breathe into me
and make me feel something
Wake me real
call me back
from the nothing I became
Wake me real
before I can't remember
what real feels like
Wake me
Wake me real
Verse 2
same gothic metal groove, second verse harder
I was frozen
in something comfortable
and numb
and I had stopped
calling it a problem
because I stopped
calling anything
anything
You found something
I had buried
under years of staying quiet
And you handed it to me
and said
this is yours
you left it somewhere
and I think
you need it back
Pre-Chorus
strings at full swell
Wake me up
I could not wake alone
Say my name
I had forgotten
it still existed
Chorus
Wake me real
breathe into me
and make me feel something
Wake me real
call me back
from the nothing I became
Wake me real
before I can't remember
what real feels like
Wake me
Wake me real
Violin Feature
electric violin: slow sustained then building, E string, fff, wide arm vibrato, full distortion — 8 bars as the second voice, the violin doing what the second vocalist did in the source, call and response with the soprano
Bridge
piano alone under voice, back to the opening texture
I had been living
in a quiet
I called fine
There is nothing inside
that is fine
about fine
Wake me
wake me real
Final Chorus
most powerful version, everything at maximum
Wake me real
I want to feel everything
Wake me real
I am done with nothing
Wake me real
here I am
right here
call me back
bring me back
wake me real
wake me real
Outro
piano returning alone, strings fading, guitar last
Wake me real
I'm here
wake me real