The Hollow Man

Song about a World War I soldier returning home and feeling empty. I wrote the lyrics, created much of the music in the AI app Udio. Then exported it as stems (separate tracks), then took it all into Apple Logic, adding various samples and sounds, I also sang some of the back-up vocals. I spent quite a bit of time on this one, working on the vocals and stereo separation.

This art rock song was in many ways inspired by music of my youth. Bands like Alan Parsons Project, Ambrosia, Supertramp and others.

Lyrics:

Marching onward, through the mud and through the rain
Past the trenches, where my brothers' echoes wane
Feel the burden, every step heavy with pain
Every heartbeat, another memory remains

Will I ever?
Will I ever find peace inside?

I'm just a soldier, worn from the carnage of the lines
I'm barely holding, returning fractured from the fight
Can I be mended beneath the weight of silent cries?
Can I find solace in my home beneath the skies?

Can I ever?
Can I ever reclaim my life?

Now I'm walking, through the streets of my old town
Faces changing, but their looks are all so down
Hear the whispers, 'There he goes, the hollow man'
Lost my purpose, like the gun slipped from my hand

Will they ever?
Will they ever see the soul inside?

Lessons learned, with scars unseen, mark my skin
Ghost in uniform, I'm unseen, drifting in
Glimpsed my past in shattered windows, pain's reflection
Time moves on, but I'm standing still, in life's intersection

Will I ever?
Will I ever mend the tears inside?

Underneath the veil of a hero's parade
I carry wounds that time won't ever fade
In the silence, their eyes, they look through mine
In a world repaired, but I'm left behind

Will they ever?
Will they ever hear the quiet sigh?

#artrock, #progrock, #progressive rock, #anthem, #aimusic, #udio, #udiomusic, #udioai, #sunoai, #suno, #sunomusic, #audime, #audimee,