Swamp Guardian

Intro — distant thunder, pounding rain, low swamp drones, and a slow heartbeat

Verse 1

The wind came screaming through the night,

The trees bent low, the sky turned white.

The generator died, the well ran black,

And there was no road to take her back.

Nancy ran through the rising flood,

Through broken branches, rain, and mud.

Beneath the sign that welcomed her in,

The Florida swamp swallowed her again.

Pre-Chorus

Chest-deep water, a drowning sky,

No one to hear her desperate cry.

Then through the darkness, two green eyes,

A shadow rose where the dead roots lie.

Chorus

Pull me from the water,

Drag me from the night.

The Green Heart is awakening,

Its roots are burning bright.

Lightning tears the heavens,

The ancient waters shine.

I came here just a woman,

Now the swamp has marked my life.

Verse 2

A stranger reached through the churning black,

His ancient hands pulled Nancy back.

Then lightning struck the water below,

And emerald fire began to flow.

Through every root and every stone,

A power stirred that had slept alone.

Their hands were joined, their fates were tied,

As something ancient came alive.

Pre-Chorus

The storm screamed out, the waters rose,

A living pulse beneath their clothes.

She felt the roots beneath her skin,

And heard a voice from deep within.

Chorus

Pull me from the water,

Drag me from the night.

The Green Heart is awakening,

Its roots are burning bright.

Lightning tears the heavens,

The ancient waters shine.

I came here just a woman,

Now the swamp has marked my life.

Bridge — drums drop out, whispered vocals over eerie synths

What have you done to me?

What have you awakened?

The water knows my name.

The old world is forsaken.

Build — pounding drums, distorted guitars, rising choir

Beneath the mud, beneath the trees,

An ancient power moves through me.

I was rescued from the storm,

But I will never be reborn

As the woman I was before.

Final Chorus — full band, soaring vocals, thunderous percussion

Pulled from the water,

Reborn in the night.

The Green Heart is burning,

Its roots are alive.

Lightning has bound us,

The swamp has claimed me.

I came here just a woman,

Now its guardian I'll be.

Outro — fading thunder, deep heartbeat, whispered female vocal

The storm has passed.

The roots still call.

The swamp remembers.

It has marked us all.