Ember in the Bloodline (version 2)

Verse

Brazier smoke curls up the alley wall

Orange coals passed hand to hand to all

Old man's fingers warm above the flame

He hums a rhythm older than his name

My wrist remembers heat it never learned

A hundred winters folded, still it burns

I cup my palms above the glowing red

Feel the pulse move from my chest to my head

Pre-Chorus

Something lit before I got here

Passed through skin, through blood, through years

Every beat a spark that's older

I carry fire on my shoulder

Chorus

Ember in the bloodline, burning slow

Ember in the bloodline, tells me go

Feet on the concrete, hands to the sky

Ember in the bloodline never dies

Verse

Streetlight hums where the circle forms

Bodies swaying, keeping strangers warm

Coal cart rattles down the sleeping road

Every drumbeat carries what it's owed

Grandmother's shawl still smells of that same smoke

I dance the steps before she ever spoke

The coals go dim but something stays awake

Deep in my chest, a flame I didn't make

Pre-Chorus

Something lit before I got here

Passed through skin, through blood, through years

Every beat a spark that's older

I carry fire on my shoulder

Chorus

Ember in the bloodline, burning slow

Ember in the bloodline, tells me go

Feet on the concrete, hands to the sky

Ember in the bloodline never dies

Bridge

Hand to hand, the coal keeps living

Hand to hand, the warmth keeps giving

Nobody owns this fire alone

It moves through us and calls us home

Chorus

Ember in the bloodline, burning slow

Ember in the bloodline, tells me go

Feet on the concrete, hands to the sky

Ember in the bloodline never dies