Kings for a Minute, Ghosts by Morning

Ash on the dashboard, coke on the key,

Mate said “one more” now he barely can speak,

Blue lights flicker through the smoke in the street,

Everybody acts tough till their heart skips a beat.

Got a girl in the bathroom crying through her makeup,

Another bloke laughing saying “bro just wake up,”

Music too loud, nobody heard the choke,

Whole room froze when the ambulance spoke.

Jaw locked stiff and the pupils gone wide,

Sweating through a Nike hoodie trying not to die,

Mum keeps ringing but he cuts the line,

Says he’s “all sweet” while he’s losing his mind.

And the night keeps bending,

Bodies stop pretending,

Every hit feels heavenly

Till the reaper starts descending.

Hectic lights, red and blue,

Everybody sinking but nobody tells the truth,

Young hearts burning out too soon,

Another overdose in a rented room.

We were kings for a minute, now the silence hits hard,

Names on a shirt and flowers in the yard,

Thought we had forever in the back of that car,

Now we’re pouring cheap drinks underneath the stars.

Needles and baggies on the floor of the flat,

Same old promise “yeah I’m done after that,”

But addiction got claws and it don’t fight fair,

Takes your soul slow while your mates stand there.

Seen a tough bloke drop with foam on his lips,

Cold hands shaking while his heartbeat slips,

Everybody posting “RIP brother” online,

But nobody noticed all the warning signs.

Dealer got paid and disappeared clean,

Another lost kid on a faded-out screen,

Mum at the funeral holding his chain,

Trying to understand what took her son away.

Sirens in the distance, ringing in my head,

Some survive the high, some wake up dead,

If heaven’s got a doorway, hope they made it through,

Cause the streets don’t love you back no matter what they tell you.

Hectic lights, red and blue,

Everybody drowning trying to kill the truth,

Late night demons wearing designer shoes,

Another overdose on the six o’clock news.

We laughed too loud, lived too fast,

Thought every bad night somehow would pass,

Now the smoke clears out and the silence cuts deep,

Cause some people party…

and some never leave.