Be Not Afraid
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Lyrics
[0:00–0:22 — FIRST PASS / 2:13 A.M., STILL AWAKE] Proverbs three, twenty-three through twenty-six. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. [Open with almost nothing: dry phone-mic male tenor, air conditioner hum, distant road hiss, one clean electric guitar harmonic and a low Rhodes chord. Let a tiny boom-bap kick pulse occasionally like an anxious heartbeat. Sing “When thou liest down” softly, then leave uncomfortable space before “thou shalt not be afraid.” No reassurance in the production yet—the words have to do the reassuring.] [0:23–1:01 — SECOND PASS / HEARTBEAT FINDS A GROOVE] Proverbs chapter three, verses twenty-three through twenty-six. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. [Bring in dusty boom-bap drums, thick warm bass guitar, low sub, cracked snare and chorus-soaked electric guitar. The groove should feel like driving empty streets at 2 A.M.—steady enough to calm you, never sleepy background music.] [LEAD] When thou liest down— [BEAT CUT] Thou shalt not be afraid. [ONE ROUGH VOICE FROM THE BACK] Not afraid. [LEAD — ALMOST SMILING] Yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. [ALT-ROCK MICROBURST: a gorgeous overdriven guitar chord suddenly opens across the entire stereo field on “sweet”—two seconds of headlights-on-wet-pavement euphoria—then disappears.] Be not afraid of sudden fear. [ONE LOW MALE VOICE] Nah. Neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. [Keep moving. No darkness swell.] [1:02–1:36 — INTERLUDE / ANXIETY TRIES ONE MORE TIME] Ooh. Yeah. Be not afraid of sudden fear. [Let the boom-bap loop continue while the bass starts walking. Add muted guitar scratches, faint road ambience and a distant rough falsetto.] [PSYCHEDELIC INTERRUPTION: abruptly pitch one guitar echo downward as though the road drops beneath the car, then instantly restore the groove.] For the LORD— [MICRO-SILENCE] Shall be thy confidence. [ONE FRIEND, SPOKEN FROM TOO FAR AWAY] That's it. [ACOUSTIC MICROBURST: one tiny warm three-note acoustic lick answers “confidence,” completely unexpected, then vanishes.] And shall keep thy foot from being taken. [Let the lead do a short gritty downward run on “taken,” then breathe.] [1:37–2:22 — THIRD PASS / WINDOWS DOWN, BODY FINALLY UNCLENCHES] The book of Proverbs, chapter three, verses twenty-three through twenty-six. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. [Begin with bass guitar and close lead. Bring the kick back. Then snare. Then let two wide clean electric guitars enter from opposite sides. The song is not getting bigger—it is getting calmer.] [LEAD] When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid. [ROUGH BACK-SEAT VOICES — SOFT] Not afraid. Yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. [Do not repeat “sweet.” Let it go.] Be not afraid of sudden fear. [DRUMS DROP OUT] For the LORD shall be thy confidence. [Let “confidence” get the strongest vocal moment: one raw, imperfect tenor climb, cracking slightly at the top rather than turning into a polished belt.] [DRUMS CRASH BACK + SHORT DISTORTED GUITAR BLOOM] And shall keep thy foot from being taken. [OUTRO / YOU CAN SLEEP NOW] Ooh. [Let the groove gradually simplify: boom-bap drums, warm bass, wide clean guitar, faint Rhodes, highway hiss.] [One friend quietly hums.] [Another gives a barely audible “mm.”] [PSYCHEDELIC MICROBURST: one reverse guitar note floats upward and disappears.] [Remove the snare.] [Remove the kick.] [Only bass guitar, road noise and one clean guitar remain.] [No dramatic ending. Hard cut.] [OVERALL VOCAL DIRECTION] [Make the song physically move from HYPERVIGILANCE → SAFETY → FEAR INTERRUPTS → CONFIDENCE → REST. Male tenor sounds tired, human and slightly raspy, like he genuinely recorded this after midnight—not a pristine studio singer pretending to be vulnerable. Boom bap supplies the heartbeat; alternative rock supplies emotional release through wide clean guitars and rare 2-second distortion blooms. Rough male friends appear sparingly like people actually in the car or room, never a choir. Let “THE LORD