for a mother and poet
A mourning, sad, beautiful, dark piano-driven song with strong punk influences. The verses are tense and strained, with sparse but haunting piano chords and subtle, uneasy textures. Vocals are raspy, broken, and emotionally raw, with heavy breathing that punctuates the lines. Dynamics are constantly under pressure, building unease. Chorus: erupts into an angry, shouted chant with punk energy, clashing with the minor-key piano, creating a sense of cathartic release. Distorted, aggressive backing instrumentation (guitars, drums, or synth textures) underlines the rage. Mood: emotionally charged, raw, and anxious throughout, oscillating between quiet introspection and furious outburst. The song should feel like a personal confession under extreme stress, with a sense of vulnerability at all times. Production: raw, intimate, slightly lo-fi, as if recorded live, emphasizing breath, vocal cracks, and the physicality of performance. Contrast between delicate piano and explosive punk chorus
for a mother and poet
A mourning, sad, beautiful, dark piano-driven song with strong punk influences. The verses are tense and strained, with sparse but haunting piano chords and subtle, uneasy textures. Vocals are raspy, broken, and emotionally raw, with heavy breathing that punctuates the lines. Dynamics are constantly under pressure, building unease. Chorus: erupts into an angry, shouted chant with punk energy, clashing with the minor-key piano, creating a sense of cathartic release. Distorted, aggressive backing instrumentation (guitars, drums, or synth textures) underlines the rage. Mood: emotionally charged, raw, and anxious throughout, oscillating between quiet introspection and furious outburst. The song should feel like a personal confession under extreme stress, with a sense of vulnerability at all times. Production: raw, intimate, slightly lo-fi, as if recorded live, emphasizing breath, vocal cracks, and the physicality of performance. Contrast between delicate piano and explosive punk chorus
Lyrics
Verse
A winter street keeps watch where breaths turn white,
The sirens long ago unspooled to air;
A paper cup, a candle’s patient light,
And neighbors whisper prayers they learned to share.
We keep our voices low, but make them heard,
For someone who would rather sing than plead;
A mother, poet, neighbor—plain as word—
Whose errands, like our own, were simple need.
Chorus
Victim of their hate
Victim of their hate
Verse
They’ll argue fear; they’ll claim the rightful aim,
And file the shooting neatly under law;
But winter knows the difference of blame
And mercy crushed beneath a sovereign jaw.
A toy still warm with morning’s hurried clasp;
A phone that kept on filming through the hate;
No statute mends the tendons of that gasp,
No headline softens—murdered by the state.
Chorus, angry
Murdered by the state!
Murdered by the state!
Alternative verse
And yet we will not break on what was done;
We hold the thread between our teeth and tie
A knot of names and songs, each quiet one
A bell that rings where bullets cannot lie.
Rest is a word too small for such a sea,
But rest, as far as language lets us pray;
We’ll guard the lane where winter learned to see,
And walk you home, in witness, day by day.
Chorus, angry
Murdered by the state!
Murdered by the state!
Murdered by the state!
Murdered by the state!
Outro
Murdered!
Murdered!
Murdered by their hate!
Murdered!
Murdered!
Murdered by the state!