[Intro – atmospheric clean guitar, slow arpeggios, heavy reverb] Em C G D (x2, let it ring like distant thunder)[Verse 1 – palm-muted low distortion, brooding and intimate] Em         Bm In the cradle of hills where the sheep once dreamed soft, C         Am a boy with a throat full of ravens stood aloft. Em         Bm “Wolf!” he howled to the sky, a silver lie spun, C         Am and the village rose trembling, pitchforks toward the sun.[Pre-Chorus – rising tension, clean to light crunch] G         D No shadow stirred, no fang kissed the fold— Em         C only his laughter, bright as fresh-spilled gold.[Chorus – full band explosion, soaring emo vocals, big open chords] G     D     Em   C Wolf… wolf… the boy who cried war, G     D     Em   C your voice is the thunder that hollows the shore. G     D     Em   C The sheep learn the silence that follows the roar, G     D     Em   C and the real beast waits where the dead keep score. G D Em C Wolf… wolf… the boy who cried war…[Verse 2 – heavier distortion, marching feel] Em         Bm He grew into iron, a general in gray, C         Am his tongue now a banner that swallowed the day. Em         Bm “Wolf at the border!” he thundered again, C         Am and the sons of the village marched into the rain. [Chorus – even bigger, layered harmonies, let the emotion bleed] (Repeat chorus structure above)

(Guitar Solo – right in the middle, slow and tormented, 16 bars of pure dirge agony Em C G D x3, then resolve on Em Wailing, melodic lead: long, weeping bends, whammy-bar dives, feedback swells, and mournful vibrato that feels like it’s crying for every lie ever told. Starts clean and haunted, then explodes into heavy, screaming distortion—pure emo catharsis over the battlefield of dead trust.)

[Bridge – half-time crush, raw spoken-to-scream delivery, crushing palm mutes] Em         Bm O torment, sweet sister, you walk in their skin— C         Am the ones who believed till belief became sin. G         D Each cry was a nail in the palms of the meek, Em         C each silence a noose that the living still seek. Em         Bm The wolf does not leave; it simply grows vast, C         Am a shadow that feeds on the trust we outlast.[Final Chorus – massive, full-band detonation, screamed and harmonized] G     D     Em   C Wolf… wolf… the boy who cried war… G     D     Em   C the hills are a graveyard, the sky is a scar. G     D     Em   C No voices will answer, no lanterns, no star— G     D     Em   C only the howl that we birthed from afar. G D Em C (let it ring and fade into feedback) Wolf… wolf… the boy who cried war…[Outro – slowing to a crawl, clean guitar returns, almost whispered] Em C G D (fade out with lingering reverb) Sleep… little shepherd… Em         C The flock… is already gone…

Produced by Ronald Bell and G-Dawg Trading~

Produced by Ronald Allen Bell and G-Dawg Trading~

Produced by Ronald Allen Bell and G-Dawg Trading for Moonhopper~

Composed by Erica Brolyn~

This is the second song version of this poem I wrote for my book, Deep back in 2019 by the same title.

The first one was a hip/hop version by Persephone Page.

I will include notes and some of the instructions along with the lyrics~

Verse 1

(soft, whispered vocals + distant reversed piano) Am F In light of all I’ve come to know Dm Em I now know all too much Am F In darkness pondered all alone Dm Em Yet light I’m yet to touch Verse 2 Am F The whispers heard I did conclude Dm Em Were those they spoke in vain Am F For profit and for prosper Dm Em Did the masses play this game Pre-Chorus (building tension, rising filter sweep) Am F Where are the ones that held me high? Dm Em Take your five minutes, then forget that I’m alive Am F I wrote for you a quote or two Dm Em I thought we shared… then I… Chorus (full drums drop, heavy sidechain) Am F Dm Em Is it all a game to you? Do you sit and spit, collect Am F Dm Em The secrets of the shy, the few, that in truth do reflect Am F Dm Em Like the mirror on the wall which shows the fairest of the vain Am F Dm Em Who be consumed so by their falsities that truth know not their name

[SYNTH SOLO – MIDWAY POINT] Bridge (half-time feel, almost spoken) Am F The end is a song for the dead Dm Em That speaks only from the stone Am F Like a ghost wrapped up in quotes Dm Em We’ve etched on markers that bemoan Am F The life they’ve lived and things they’ve learned Dm Em Once hoped to see us through Am F These things which bring us plight Dm Em Should serve uplift should we ensue… Final Chorus (double length – bigger, layered harmonies) Am F Dm Em In vicious circles do we spin Am F Dm Em In ignorance we die Am F Dm Em Pernicious lips the path they lend Am F Dm Em Serve send our search awry Am F Dm Em In vicious circles we exist Am F Dm Em For to feed the beast that’s spawned Am F Dm Em For beast be all the reason Am F Dm Em We might need for to abscond Am F Dm Em In vicious circles time does stop Am F Dm Em We drop, we spin around Am F Dm Em For time runs not on lines Am F Dm Em We serve our time till right come round

(Outro (everything strips back to just the glitching synth from the solo, slowly fading into vinyl crackle and a single reversed heartbeat)

Prince Andrew sat on a wall of brittle gold and bone, Prince Andrew, in velvet rot, claimed the throne as his alone— A porcelain smile cracked with sweat that never came, Dancing slow with shadows sweet, whispering forgotten names. Oh, Prince Andrew had a great fall, a plunge through crystal night, Shattering like stained-glass saints beneath the Epstein light; The little girls in summer frocks, their laughter turned to dust, Now echo in the marrow-deep where royal blood must rust.

(Solo)

All the King’s horses, black and blind, with bridles forged of lies, All the King’s men in tailored suits, with lawyers’ silver knives— They stitched and spun and swore and sweated, in the flickering TV glare, But the pieces would not knit again; the soul was never there. Prince Andrew lies in pieces now, a dirge in minor key, A puppet with its strings cut clean, adrift on memory’s sea. No crown can mend the hollow chest, no press can bleach the stain— Only the wind through Buckingham sighs his sickly, sweet refrain: Prince Andrew… Prince Andrew… All the king’s men… failed again.

(Solo)

Written and produced by Roald Allen Bell and G-Dawg Trading~