Proverbs 4:23-27
U
Lyrics
[0:00–0:22 — FIRST PASS / QUIET SELF-CHECK] Proverbs four, twenty-three through twenty-seven. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil. [Start almost bare: dry phone-mic male tenor, soft muted acoustic pulse, faint room hiss, warm bass note and one distant electric-guitar shimmer. No full drums. Let “Keep thy heart with all diligence” land like advice you actually need today, not a sermon. Keep “issues of life” warm and low.] [0:23–1:04 — SECOND PASS / THE WALK GETS A GROOVE] Proverbs chapter four, verses twenty-three through twenty-seven. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil. [Bring in dusty boom-bap drums, warm bass guitar, fast muted acoustic strum, foot stomp, hand percussion and wide alt-rock haze. Keep the groove chill but buoyant.] [LEAD] Keep thy heart with all diligence. [ONE ROUGH OFF-MIC VOICE] Keep it. [LEAD] For out of it are the issues of life. [Move on immediately.] Let thine eyes look right on. [ONE LOW VOICE] Right on. And let thine eyelids look straight before thee. [ACOUSTIC MICROBURST: one quick bright fingerpicked flourish after “before thee,” then straight back to the strum.] Ponder the path of thy feet— [MICRO-SILENCE] And let all thy ways be established. [ROUGH CREW — ONE WARM RESPONSE] Established. [1:05–1:38 — INTERLUDE / DON’T DRIFT] Ooh. Yeah. Keep thy heart. [Let the bassline walk while the acoustic stays quick and dry.] Let thine eyes look right on. [PSYCHEDELIC MICROBURST: one reverse electric-guitar tail drifts backward for half a second, then snaps forward.] Ponder the path of thy feet. [ONE ROUGH VOICE] Watch the path. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left. [BEAT THINS] Remove thy foot from evil. [Let that line land completely dry.] [ALT-ROCK MICROBURST: one brief wide guitar bloom after “evil,” then disappear.] [1:39–2:24 — THIRD PASS / STEADY, NOT FLASHY] The book of Proverbs, chapter four, verses twenty-three through twenty-seven. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil. [Start with close lead and acoustic strum only. Add foot stomp, bass, boom-bap drums, then wide electric haze. Let the third pass feel more settled and intentional, not more polished.] [LEAD] Keep thy heart with all diligence. [ONE ROUGH VOICE] With all diligence. [LEAD] Ponder the path of thy feet. [ROUGH CREW — ONE SHORT RESPONSE] Ponder the path. [LEAD] Turn not to the right hand nor to the left— [SHORT SILENCE] Remove thy foot from evil. [Let the final phrase get one short imperfect tenor rise, then settle.] [SECOND ACOUSTIC MICROBURST: one tiny warm harmonic lick after “evil,” then gone.] [OUTRO / KEEP WALKING CLEAN] Ooh. Yeah. [No more scripture repetition. Let the fast acoustic loop ride under dusty drums, warm bass, foot stomps and wide electric shimmer. One friend hums rough harmony. Another clap lands late.] [Gradually remove the electric guitar.] [Then the drums.] [Leave acoustic, bass and room tone.] [Hard cut mid-strum.] [OVERALL VOCAL DIRECTION] [This track should establish the whole KEEP THYSELF album: HEART → SPEECH → EYES → PATH → DIRECTION → REMOVE EVIL. Male tenor stays dry, grainy, breathy and conversational with fast-flow indie-folk phrasing, quick imperfect runs and loose urban swagger. Acoustic guitar is a true rhythmic layer; boom bap remains the backbone. Let “KEEP THY HEART WITH ALL DILIGENCE” be the central grounding phrase, then make “PONDER THE PATH OF THY FEET” the practical movement line. Backup vocals sound like rough fellow travelers—low yeahs, worn oohs, late catches. Psychedelic moments stay tiny: reverse guitar tails, tape bends, brief stereo smears. Alt-rock blooms only around key warning lines. No glossy folk-pop, polished CCM, cinematic holiness or bluegrass dominance. Raw, chill, alert, disciplined, clean.]