Conscious, Conscientious 4: The Lyrics
1. Enter
(In this song I aimed to capture the hopelessness and fear we find in the main cast at the start of Volume 4. Lammy and Zayza are kidnapped before Deon and Skrili''s eyes, and Zayza is left to confront how her past has amounted to this moment)
LYRICS:
Grass is in my hair just like the day when we both tumbled down the hill
All these scrapes like in the garden, mind the rocks and pebbles
Overcast is over us but everyone says it''s not gonna rain
And I hope they''re wrong, I''d like to wear my hood over my face
(Ooh) Everything I know is crumbling, everything I know is crumbling
(Ooh) Everything I know is crumbling, everything I know is crumbling in my hands
Two cups of cinnamon tea go cold, at least the smell is pleasant
Even all alone I mean it every time I say I--
Coronation balcony today, the spikes are right below it
Tied behind my back, they mean it every time they say they--
(Ooh) Everything I know is crumbling, everything I know is crumbling
(Ooh) Everything I know is crumbling, everything I know is crumbling in my hands
(Ooh) Everything I know is crumbling, everything I know is crumbling in my hands
It was just a shallow dream to belong here
But I shifted from day to night too quickly
Alone and away
It''s too cold
I''m afraid and that terror is keeping me warm
This is the storm I''ve been sheltering from
It stalked me and flooded out more of the ones I love
And this smile''s still haunting my head
But it''s changed faces
Subverting the grave just to whisper that I might be cursed to be
Alone
(Ooh) Everything I know is crumbling, everything I know is crumbling
(Ooh) Everything I know is crumbling, everything I know is crumbling in my hands
2. Battle of Azvaylen
(As the title suggests, this song retells the events of the fight between the consciousness friends and Proscious. Beginning with Lammy and Zayza''s kidnapping and running through the final fight in the Dreamer Chamber, I took a much more narrative approach to these lyrics while using the shifting instrumentation to capture each movement.)
LYRICS:
Just over the hills we find your faces peering back
Reaching to our racing hearts to know your love again
Helicopter rumble, drizzle, call out my name
(Pinch on my neck, it''s sinking in)
We tumble where you stood, and watch them steal you away
What is this place?
Golden eyes, and red hair, I know I''ve seen you before
Rolling away
How can she say she''ll end my pain when she created this war?
Wait, it''s too soon to assume
Did you already forget the bond you''ve constructed?
And I''m over this watching you whine
For goodness sake, you’re a princess, so have some spine
Open up and find all you hide
''Cuz I''m busting us out
How can this power be real?
If I abandon them I''ll get away
No, I won''t be my father
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If I fail, I''ll regret nothing
(Go
Skidmarks on the road
Cut holes through the sky
Just keep holding on, we''re coming for you
One unit, we fly
One purpose, we fight
If they die we''re left with nothing)
Justice for our nation
Your execution
Begins
Hang high above your demise
Fall
And you''ll kill no more
(You liars
I''ll reconstruct the bones you broke
We''ll take on your challenge
And you''ll kill no more)
Say
I''ve been thinking
We''ve become quite a team
Don''t you think?
With these ugly vines intwined
With your earring scar and mine
No matter what happens next
I''m glad we met
So when the Window tints the Chamber green
I''ll take on Wei myself
And I will bring him to his knees
All across the castle there rings a sound
A song of reckoning barreling towards you
The system dies
Though you try, you''ll wither
Empty, colorless cold light will guard her life
I am justice, I’m your worst Nightmare
And I exist to bring you to your end
3. Zayza
(Zayza''s theme, beginning with the words from her adversaries (especially Fewpar), and evolving into her anthem as she learns to silence the lies and live out who she knows she can be. Fun fact: this was the first song I ever wrote for the story.)
LYRICS:
Better run faster, ''cuz they''re gonna catch you
Better run faster ''cuz they''re gonna kill you
Better run faster, Zayza
Better remember ''cuz they''ll show no mercy
Better remember ''cuz they''ll show no mercy
Better remember, Zayza
You are not what you thought
You are not what you thought
Maybe next time you''ll think twice before you
Maybe next time you''ll think twice before
Maybe next time you will think twice
Maybe next time there won''t be a next time
Maybe next time there won''t be a next
Maybe next time, there won''t be a Zayza
You are not what you thought (I''m sorry, Zayza)
You are not
I had to recover what I casted away. It was the only way I could defend you from the darkness and danger surrounding me. And now I know why I ran and hid. I feel it again the same as before. I lost nearly everyone…but I couldn''t see that I hadn''t yet lost you. My pain blinded me. But now I can believe again, because of you. There''s still a reason to rise up and face them.
So rest your head on my shoulder and wait. I promise you it''ll be alright...Because I know who I''m meant to be now, and I''ll run away no longer.
You are not what you thought (I''m sorry, Zayza)
You are not what you thought
When they said I was a monster, did it make their hearts cold?
''Cuz I don''t feel cold at all
No, I''m not running anymore
Now that I''ve found myself
So as the room sparkles green
And you keep believing in me
I''ll save you now
I will save you now
4. Hiroko
(Hiroko''s theme, written from her perspective before the battle and in those final moments within the Dreamer Chamber...)
LYRICS:
Spark the flame beneath the night sky
Gather our hate
Cast it away
And we''ll watch it leave with the smoke into the dark
Maybe we can feel gravity''s healing start
Everything repeats over time
Stories of old, and stories unfold,
So we''ll make our own
Calm our hearts as one tonight
And when tomorrow comes, mine will keep yours beating through the fight
I''ll cover your head
When the words are attacking
And pressure builds around
My melody will silence all of the sound
Your precious eyes and golden light
Will not ever flicker out
Every breath I take is yours
Every day with you is my sanctuary
Heroes aren''t born in the light
They come from shadows and blood
And shine cuz they can still love
That''s what I see in you now
Keep an eye on them, alright?
Cuz when I''m chasing the sacred they''ll need your sight
I''ll cover your head
When the lies are all stabbing
And hatred builds around
My melody will silence all of the sound
Your precious eyes and emerald light
Will not ever flicker out
Take my haven as your own
Every day with you is our perfect harmony
I wanna build a whole world
Where you would never be scared
And we could laugh with the stars
But if I''m all I can give, just know
Everything I did was for our love
Now nothing can destroy you
I''ll cover your head
When the sun is descending
And towers tumble down
My melody will silence all of the sound
Your mind is where I''ll bury mine
Cuz I know you won''t forget
Every breath I took was yours
Every memory is our eternity
Your faces vanish behind the blinding beam
Flesh fades, mind polarizes
As it bursts into fragments, shards materialize in the abstract
And every last one will sustain this transcendence to hear your voice