Homeless and Hopeless album art

07 / Societal Collapse

The Ritual

Homeless and Hopeless

I didn't fall into it screaming,
I stepped in quiet and stayed.
No speeches, no villains,
just decisions that don't fade.

You don't feel it when it happens,
it lands later, slow and mean.
Survival trims the conscience
till you fit the space between.

I don't justify the outcome,
I don't polish what it took.
Some lines don't look like damage
till you see yourself shook.

I'm still here, that's the headline.
Everything else got cut.
If there's a sin in breathing on,
then I guess I'm fucked.
Did what had to be done, done
Yeah done, done

Blood on the clock, it run, run
Fuckin' run, run

No clean hands, no sun, sun
None ain't got none

Crossed that line, step, step
No way back fuck that

Heart went cold, numb, numb
Still beatin', still dumb

Moral broke, shit bent, bent
Paid that price fuck rent

Beat go low, thump, thump
Chest cave in fuckin' pump

Still here, breath come, come
Yeah ritual won

Say it raw, no cleanse, cleanse
No forgive fuck them

Did what had to be done, done
Done, done say it again
I crossed lines I don't talk about,
not for power, just to keep the lights on.
Every "had to" adds interest,
now the debt hums when the night's gone.

Did what survival asked me to,
didn't feel brave, didn't feel wrong.
Just felt quiet in the moment,
then it echoed when the moment's gone.

Hands clean, conscience stained,
no sirens, no parade.
You don't get medals for endurance,
just habits you can't shake.

I don't flex sins, I inventory them,
stacked neat like unpaid fees.
Every choice left a fingerprint
that still unlocks me in my sleep.

I didn't break from violence,
I bent from necessity.
That's the injury
living with who you had to be.

That's the injury
living with who you had to be.
Did what had to be done, done
Blood on the clock, it run, run
No clean hands, no sun, son
Still here when the damage done

Crossed that line, step, step
Heart went cold, kept breath, breath
No regrets, no depth, depth
Just the weight that I accept

Beat stay low, thump, thump
Chest feel hollow, numb, numb
No crown won, no funds, funds
Ritual paid in lungs, lungs

Didn't fall, didn't rise, rise
Just survived, eyes dry, dry
Truth stayed mute, lie, lie
Moral broke, still alive

Say it once, say it plain, plain
No absolve, no gain, gain
Ritual carved in brain, brain
Still remain, remain,
Did what had to be done
yeah that's the ritual won

Crossed the line, didn't run
yeah that's the ritual won

Kept it breathing, damage done
yeah that's the ritual won

No forgiveness, no refund
yeah that's the ritual won

Still alive, conscience gone
yeah that's the ritual won
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