S0UL

Intro - Slow Hammond organ swell, distant gospel choir hum, a single tearful guitar bend

Verse 1

Lord, I've been running from the devil in my chest

Every step I take just puts my soul to the test

I gave my heart to a woman with eyes like fire

She took it all and left me stranded in the mire

Now I'm kneeling at the altar of a broken dream

Screaming at the ceiling, nothing's what it seems

These hands that used to hold her now just hold the blues

Strumming on these heartstrings, paying all my dues

Pre-Chorus

The organ's crying out, the horns begin to wail

This burden on my shoulders, I swear it's gonna fail

But I keep on singing, keep on bleeding out the sound

Til every goddamn tear I've cried is buried in the ground

Chorus

Soul, I'm begging you, don't leave me now

I've got nothing left to lose, no one to show me how

Every note I sing is a prayer for release

Give me one more chance, Lord, give me one more piece

Of that fire, that hunger, that ache inside my bones

I'm selling my salvation for a goddamn microphone

Verse 2

She walked out on a Sunday, left the door wide open

My heart was on the floor, bleeding, barely hopin'

Now I'm writing in the darkness with a whiskey pen

Trying to find the melody that brings her back again

But the groove is getting heavier, the tempo's slowing down

I'm drowning in this silence in a godforsaken town

The bass is walking slowly, like a man without a home

These chord changes haunt me, and I'm singing all alone

Pre-Chorus

The backing vocals whisper, but they don't know my pain

This heartache's like a hurricane, washing down the rain

But I keep on shouting, keep on crying out your name

Even though I know that nothing's ever gonna be the same

Chorus

Soul, I'm begging you, don't leave me now

I've got nothing left to lose, no one to show me how

Every note I sing is a prayer for release

Give me one more chance, Lord, give me one more piece

Of that fire, that hunger, that ache inside my bones

I'm selling my salvation for a goddamn microphone

Bridge - Drums drop to just hi-hat, organ swells, spoken/sung raw

I remember your perfume, lavender and sin

I remember your body, the way you pulled me in

Now I'm just a ghost inside this empty room

Singing to the shadows, praying for the doom

To lift me up, to set me free

To give me back the man I used to be

But the mirror shows a stranger with a tear-stained face

Begging for forgiveness, begging for some grace

Lord, I'm begging...

(Gospel breakdown - Clapping, hand percussion, choir of voices shouting)

Lift me up! Lift me up!

I'm down here on my knees!

Give me back the feeling!

Give me back the breeze!

I've been broken, I've been battered

I've been beaten black and blue!

But this soul of mine is screaming

For one more chance with you!

(Final Chorus - Full band explosion, horns blaring, Hammond roaring)

SOUL! I'M BEGGING YOU, DON'T LEAVE ME NOW!

I'VE GOT NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE! SHOW ME HOW!

EVERY NOTE I SING IS A PRAYER FOR RELEASE!

GIVE ME ONE MORE CHANCE, LORD, GIVE ME ONE MORE PIECE!

OF THAT FIRE! THAT HUNGER! THAT ACHE INSIDE MY BONES!

I'M SELLING MY SALVATION FOR A GODDAMN MICROPHONE!

YEAH!

Outro - Slow fade, organ sustaining, single horn note crying out

I'm selling my salvation...

For one more... goddamn... song...

...and the organ plays on, alone in the dark.

DEDICATED TO AURORA HAZE 22