KEEPING SCORE3

Fate is a word we use too easy
when the road gets hard to recognize,
like we never saw the turn approaching,
like we somehow missed the warning signs.

But every step becomes another,
every choice can pull a little weight,
till you're walking with a thousand reasons
why the blood beneath your feet is fate.

[PRE-CHORUS]

I knew the glass was on the ground,
I felt it breaking through my skin.
Still, there's a strange kind of comfort
in blaming where you've been.

[CHORUS]

Pain has a way of keeping score,
it takes its time, then takes some more.
You feed it every choice you make,
a little blood for every mile,
a little bone for every break,
until you learn how much it takes.

And I learned.

Oh, I learned.

[VERSE 2]

I wore my teeth down holding steady,
tasted metal every time I spoke,
dragged my body through the aftermath
of every promise that I broke.

There were nights my hands kept shaking,
mornings dressed in purple, black and blue,
and every bruise became a question
I already fucking knew.

[PRE-CHORUS]

Because the knife was in my hand
long before it reached my skin.
You can call the damage destiny,
but choice is where it begins.

[CHORUS]

Pain has a way of keeping score,
it takes its time, then takes some more.
You feed it every choice you make,
a little blood for every mile,
a little bone for every break,
until you learn how much it takes.

And I learned.

Oh, I learned.

[BRIDGE]

Then something changed beneath my fingers,
warm enough to wake my skin.
A different kind of consequence
I wouldn't mind getting in.

Your breath was close enough to taste it,
your hand knew where to leave its weight,
and after all the roads that broke me,
this one felt damn good to take.

[FINAL CHORUS]

Pain had a way of keeping score,
but I don't owe it anymore.
If every choice becomes a road,
then let this one run through my veins,
leave your fingerprints behind
and give my body better stains.

I've learned what every choice can cost.

Tonight—

I like the price.

Create a strange, addictive fusion of industrial tango, desert cabaret and dirty gospel, led by a fearless female voice. Begin with detuned upright piano, plucked double bass, boot stomps, wooden knocks and metallic chain percussion, creating an uneven walking rhythm that feels wounded but impossible to stop. Add distant western guitar, breathy organ and low female humming like ghosts following the beat. Keep the melody highly singable, sharp and memorable, never spoken or theatrical in a musical-theatre way. Let the chorus suddenly lock into a powerful, almost ritual groove with layered female voices answering the lead. Halfway through, change the body's language: percussion becomes smoother, bass turns warmer, guitar bends become sensual and the vocal moves dangerously close to the microphone. Make pleasure sound like the same rhythm finally learning how to move without limping. End with a fierce, sweaty final chorus and an abrupt piano hit. Strange, physical, elegant, raw, hypnotic.