[Verse 1] Morning cracks in crooked houses Kettles sing on broken stoves Hands are shaking as they’re lacing Boots with holes that still go on Paper walls and leaking ceilings Still they dress like Sunday sun Passing plates with almost nothing Saving smiles for everyone [Pre-Chorus] You can feel it underfoot When the ground feels cold and loud Like a river running up Through a silent Stubborn crowd [Chorus] There’s a river in the ground Rising Deep faith flowing up Up Up From the low notes Slowly climbing Till the hard days all drink up When the world bends We bend together Hearts beat heavy But we stand Like water turning stone to softer We keep moving Hand in hand [Verse 2] Lines at dawn for work they promised Rain runs down the rusted gate Laughter in a shared umbrella Stories keeping out the weight Wallet’s thin But songs are thicker Names are carved in kitchen wood Every tear that stains the table Feeds the roots of something good [Pre-Chorus] You can hear it in the floor In the pipes and in the rails From the corners of the choir Where the quiet voices swell [Chorus] There’s a river in the ground Rising Deep faith flowing up Up Up From the low notes Slowly climbing Till the hard days all drink up When the world bends We bend together Hearts beat heavy But we stand Like water turning stone to softer We keep moving Hand in hand [Bridge] [low vocal register] From the cellar to the steeple Through the alleys Through the fields Every crack in every sidewalk Is a path for hope to heal [whispered vocals] From the cradle From the graveside From the hunger From the fire All the doubt and all the dust Turn to fuel for something higher [crescendo] Hear it rushing Hear it roaring From the shadows to the choir Every voice a drop that’s pouring Into one unbroken wire [Chorus] There’s a river in the ground Rising Deep faith flowing up Up Up From the low notes Slowly climbing Till the hard days all drink up When the world bends We bend together Hearts beat heavy But we stand Like water turning stone to softer We keep moving Hand in hand [Outro] [soft Almost spoken] From the low to high We’re climbing All these wounds will turn to sound When it’s dark Keep your feet on it Feel that river in the ground

Warm organic band feel, male vocals. Deep, liquid bass as the centerpiece, gliding between octaves with subtle slides; roomy drums with brushes and soft kick, dusty keys, and a faint tremolo guitar. Verses stay intimate and close-mic’d, bass moving like a quiet current; pre-chorus swells with toms and rising bass runs; chorus opens into wide harmonies and ride cymbal shimmer. Middle bridge strips back to bass + vocal, then full-band return with bigger, chant-like outro., low

River In The Ground