The Cry Of Suffering
U
Lyrics
[0:00–0:20 — FIRST PASS / LONELY CITY, QUIET QUESTION] Job thirty-five, nine through ten. By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry: they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty. But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night; [Start almost empty. Dry phone-mic tenor, faint highway hiss, one distant Rhodes chord, low bass pulse and a clean electric guitar harmonic hanging like a streetlight in fog. No drums. Let the oppression lines sound observational, not theatrical. Then pull everything back around “Where is God my maker.”] [LEAD — CLOSE, LOW] Where is God my maker— [MICRO-SILENCE] Who giveth songs in the night. [Let “songs in the night” get the first tiny melodic lift.] [0:21–0:55 — SECOND PASS / BOOM BAP COMES IN UNDER THE QUESTION] Job chapter thirty-five, verses nine through ten. By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry: they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty. But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night; [Bring in dusty boom-bap drums, cracked snare, warm bass guitar, soft sub and wide clean alt-rock guitars. Keep the pocket heavy and patient.] [LEAD] Where is God my maker? [ONE ROUGH OFF-MIC VOICE] Where? [LEAD] Who giveth songs in the night. [ROUGH CREW — ONE WARM RESPONSE] Songs in the night. [Move on immediately.] [ALT-ROCK MICROBURST: one brief overdriven guitar bloom opens wide after “night,” then drops away.] [0:56–1:26 — INTERLUDE / THE SONG APPEARS IN THE DARK] Ooh. Yeah. Where is God my maker? [Let the bassline carry the motion. Add road ambience, one muted guitar scrape, low Rhodes and a rough falsetto “ooh.”] Who giveth songs— [BEAT CUT] In the night. [PSYCHEDELIC MICROBURST: reverse one guitar tail so it briefly pulls backward through the stereo field, then snap dry.] [ACOUSTIC MICROBURST: one tiny warm fingerpicked acoustic lick after “night,” barely one second, then gone.] [Let the crew stay mostly wordless here. Rough “ooh,” one low “yeah,” one friend humming off-key in the background.] [1:27–2:06 — THIRD PASS / STILL DARK, BUT NOW THERE'S MUSIC] The book of Job, chapter thirty-five, verses nine through ten. By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry: they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty. But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night; [Start with bass guitar and close lead only. Let the drums re-enter slowly. Bring the wide guitars back under the final line.] [LEAD] Where is God my maker— [ONE LOW VOICE] My maker. [LEAD] Who giveth songs in the night. [ROUGH CREW — ONE-TIME DOUBLE] Songs in the night. [One voice late, one raspy, one too soft. Keep it.] [SECOND ALT-ROCK MICROBURST: a short gritty guitar swell after “night,” then disappear.] [OUTRO] Ooh. Yeah. [No more scripture repetition. Let dusty drums, warm bass guitar, clean wide electrics, faint Rhodes and highway noise ride for several bars. One rough hum, one guitar string scrape, one friend tapping a finger on the dashboard.] [One tiny reverse-guitar flash.] [Hard cut.] [OVERALL VOCAL DIRECTION] [This song should feel like a late-night question slowly turning into evidence that God still gives music in dark places. Male tenor stays dry, grainy, restrained and conversational with loose timing, breath and tiny imperfect runs. Boom bap remains the rhythmic spine; alt-rock supplies width through clean chorus guitars and rare overdriven blooms. Backup vocals feel like rough friends in the car or basement—low yeahs, worn oohs, sparse one-time responses. Psychedelic elements stay tiny: reverse guitar tails, tape bends, warped Rhodes. Acoustic appears once or twice as a micro-flare. Avoid glossy CCM, cinematic suffering, pop-punk or arena-rock sheen. Raw, urban, nocturnal, lonely, musical, hopeful.]