[Intro — Soft highlife guitar pick, shaker, light djembe]
(Yeah… oh-oh-oh)
Under the streetlamp rain I learned to stand again,
Dust on my sneakers, mama’s pot on the flame.
I breathed the city in — the pulse, the pain,
Mmm, I’m still standin’, still breathin’… (No — never)
[Verse 1]
Market whistles at dawn, taxis paint the gloom,
Neon on cracked tar, I planted hope in that room.
Hands that once trembled now steady the tune,
When the night pulled my sleeve, I found sunrise in the boom.
[Pre-Chorus — keys rise, syncopated phrasing]
Can’t fold when cold winds try to bend me — (No)
Fire in my chest, a lighthouse they can’t dim — (Never)
I keep time with the heartbeat of the street,
Step by step — I breathe — I meet the beat.
[Chorus — Afro-pop groove, highlife guitar stab, call & response]
Never let go — I rise, I rise! (I rise — I rise)
Never let go — I hold the light! (Hold it — hold it)
Never let go — I rise, I rise! (No — never)
Never let go — Never, never — never, never.
[Verse 2 — percussion groove builds, syncopated lines]
Tears on my collar dry under noon sun,
I trade a worn map for a straight run.
Scars like train lines — they tell where I’ve been,
But my song’s a new road, and I’m rollin’ again.
[Pre-Chorus 2 — rising horns, layered vocals]
Can’t break what’s built from a thousand small wins — (No)
Every setback’s a verse where the chorus begins — (Begin)
I move in the pocket between doubt and hope,
Feet on the ground, head to the scope.
[Bridge — stripped down, key lift, surprising image]
(Quiet — one hand clap, lone guitar)
I traded my shadow for a chorus of kin,
Turned the ash of last nights into seeds within.
Like a baobab root holding river and road,
I’m heavy with truth — light enough to go.
[Breakdown — brief; call & response]
I — will — not — fall! (No — never!)
I — will — not — fold! (No — never!)
[Final Chorus — full band, horn stabs, layered backing vocals]
Never let go — I rise, I rise! (I rise — I rise)
Never let go — I hold the light! (Hold it — hold it)
Never let go — I rise, I rise! (Watch me — watch me)
Never let go — Never, never — never, never.
[Outro — highlife guitar licks, fading djembe]
Mmm, watch me stand — under streetlamp rain,
Never, never let go… (Never — never)
(Ohhh — yeah) — I rise, I rise…
