Naqaab-E-Khudi

[Musical intro - saxophone solo, ending on C#]

[Intro - English]
I’ve worn this face so long,
It fits like skin, feels like skin.
But it has never felt real,
It has never felt like mine.

[Verse 1 - Hindi]
Naqaab tha tab ek zarurat
Par ab pehchaan ban gaya
Jo sach tha, woh chup raha
Jhoot pakdaa naa gayaa

[Saxophone solo, ending on C#]

[Refrain - English]
I built this empire of mirrors
But none reflect who I am
I speak in echoes, and answer
To names I never chose

[Saxophone solo, ending on C#]

[Verse 2 - Mixed]
Chehra badla, per dard wahi tha!
I became the version they needed
And buried the one I loved
Kya kartha main, mujhko bataa!

[Bridge - English] 
The mask cracked, but no one noticed.
The truth bled, but it looked like art.
And then I smiled for the cameras,
And I cried... Cried in the captions!

[Saxophone solo, ending on C#]

[Outro - Hindi]
Naqaab utar jab gayaa,
Chehraa pehchaan na aayaa.
Aankhon ne khilaayaa dhokaa,
Sacch phir bhi cchupaa rahaa!

[Saxophone solo, ending on C#]

-- Pradeep K (Prady)


Style:
B-minor. Soulful. Soft Rock. Breathy tenor Saxophone. Ambient textures. The vocal phrasing should often resolve on black keys (e.g., F#, G#, C#), creating emotional tension and unresolved cadence. Avoid full harmonic resolution; let the melody linger in ambiguity.

The Lighthouse Lied

[Intro – soft ambient pad + fingerpicked clean electric guitar]

[Verse 1 – light fingerpicking on clean electric guitar, vocals front and intimate]

I followed a voice through the fog and the salt,

It whispered of shores and of sins not my fault.

The waves held no answers, just questions in spray,

And I lost all my stars when the sky turned away.

[Pre-Chorus – subtle hi-hats begin, ambient keys swell, emotional tension builds]

I trusted the blink of a promise ahead,

Not knowing that light can be just as misled.

[Chorus 1 – clean electric guitar arpeggios, gentle bassline, restrained drums enter]

The lighthouse lied—it blinked and let me drown.

I cried for the rocks, but they didn’t make a sound.

No rescue for the ones marked deep,

By tides that promise but never reach.

[Verse 2 – rhythm guitar joins softly, bass deepens, vocals steady]

I lit a flare just to burn the map,

Watched the truth curl up in a smoky trap.

Every shore I chased turned liquid and thin,

I’ve been sailing in circles with paper skin.

[Pre-Chorus – ambient piano + layered pads, light tom rolls hint at build-up]

I called out to hope, but she changed her name,

And left me with echoes that sounded the same.

[Chorus 2 – fuller guitar strumming, melodic bass groove, warm harmony pad underneath]

The lighthouse lied—it blinked and let me drown.

I cried for the rocks, but they didn’t make a sound.

No rescue for the ones marked deep,

By tides that promise but never reach.

[Guitar Solo – emotional bends, sustained clean tone with reverb and delay, 8 bars]

[Bridge – stripped down: vocals + ambient pads + faint bass swells, no drums]

What good is a shore when it never stays still?

What good is a prayer when you don’t mean to heal?

What good is a light if it leads you to kill

Every part of yourself just to fit in the wheel?

[Final Chorus – full band, vocal harmonies, soft cymbal swells, emotional peak]

The lighthouse lied—it blinked and looked away.

Left me with salt lines that don’t wash away.

I’m building my raft out of lies I forgave,

And sailing to nowhere, at least I’m not saved.

[Outro – instruments fade out, only ambient guitar + faint synth pad + dry vocal]

The lighthouse lied...

But I still wave.

-- Pradeep K (Prady)

Style: 

E-minor. Soft rock. Haunting, reflective, gradual emotional build.

Fracture

[Verse 1]

I walk a tightrope, frayed at the ends  

Shallow breath, with weight pressing in  

The nights stretch long, no dawn in sight  

But hey! I'm still standing...

Call it pride—or call it spite! 

[Pre-Chorus]

Every crack runs deeper, every whisper turns to screams  

Holding on so tightly, I might tear at the seams  

[Chorus – Rock Intensifies]

I could snap, I could break  

Teetering close to my own fate  

Holding strong, still afraid  

But even steel bends in the quake  

[Verse 2]

They see defiance, they don’t see doubt  

The tremors under skin, the fire burning out  

And yet I wear this armor, sculpted from pain  

A monument to battles lost again and again  

[Verse 3]

I fake the laughter, rehearse the lines

Make peace with silence, dodge the signs

But truth has claws and it always finds

The fragile places I try to hide

[Pre-Chorus – Builds Tension]

Every mask feels heavier, every smile a masquerade

Still I walk through shadows, still I dance around the blade

[Chorus]

I could snap, I could break

Teetering close to my own fate

Holding strong, still afraid

But even steel bends in the quake

[Bridge – Climactic Shift]

What happens when the wall gives way?  

When the dam can't hold the waves?  

Do I shatter, do I fade?  

Or rise again from the remains?  

[Outro - guitar, emotional, seeking, questioning] 

All that's left is breath and flame

Breath and flame... Or so they say

Wish I could stop running on fumes

And find a peaceful place to sleep 

-- Pradeep K (Prady)

Style: 

Soft rock transitioning into rock. Deep introspective mood building into raw release. Warm male vocals.

Fractured Fortnight

[Intro]

Time moves, but never fast enough,

Silence hums where voices should be.

Two weeks held me by the spine,

Pulled me forward, let me bleed.

[Verse 1]

The lights never dimmed, the calls never ceased,  

Each hour slipped through my trembling hands.  

No rest, no sky, just the fractured repeat—  

Another night, another demand.  

[Chorus]

Distant peaks, a waiting wind,  

A place untouched by all I’ve seen.  

Let me vanish, let me break,  

Leave me where time forgets my name.  

[Verse 2]

Whispers of care, yet hands stay cold,  

Their comfort drifts but never lands.  

I gave and gave, I stood alone,  

And found myself in hollow plans.  

[Chorus]

Distant peaks, a waiting wind,  

A place untouched by all I’ve seen.  

Let me vanish, let me break,  

Leave me where time forgets my name.  

[Bridge] 

I held the weight, I bore the tide,  

Still, no one asked how deep it burned inside.  

Let me scream, let me shatter—  

I am more than silence, more than static matter.  

[Verse 3]

If I sleep, will I wake the same?  

If I stop, will the echoes fade?  

Two weeks swallowed me whole,  

Now I stand, but I am changed.  

[Outro]

Time moves, but never fast enough,

Silence hums where voices should be.

Two weeks held me by the spine,

Pulled me forward, left me free.

-- Pradeep K (Prady)

Echochamber (The Call)

[Intro - Sparse acoustic guitar fingerpicking]

[Verse 1]

Oh no... Uhhhh, oh no...!

Oh, oh no... Ohhh no! 

Answer it, please... You sure? 

Ohhh... oh, no!

[Pre-chorus]

I would have... Would have...

If I could have... Could have...

But no, no, no...!

No, no, no! 

[Chorus]

There's no true promise,

No, no, not even one!

No real way out, now,

And nowhere to run!

[Bridge - slow and powerful]

Riiinnnggg! It's a call...

It's ringing, it's your call! 

Ohhh no, no, please...

No, no, not again! 

[Pre-chorus]

I would have... Would have...

If I could have... Could have...

But no, no, no...!

No, no, no! I won't!

[Chorus]

There's no true promise,

No, no, not even one!

No real way out, now,

And nowhere to run!

[Final bridge]

Need to find a way 

Need to find a place

But no, there's none! 

Nobody to ask!

[Outro - emotional, echoing, lingering]

Ohhh no... I'm losing!

Ohhh no... I've lost!

Ohhh no... Am I still here? 

Why? Ohhh why? Ohhh no!

-- Pradeep K (Prady)

Style:

Stripped R&B ballad. D minor. Warm clean acoustic guitar. Subtle fingerpicking. Warm male vocals. Emotion: helplessness, anxiety, speechlessness, recursive miseries. 

Time to Go

[Saxophone solo] 

[Verse 1]

Hmm... Mmm... Mmm... Mmm! Mmm...

Ooo.. Ooo.. ohh.. oh-ho... Time to go! 

Hmm... Mmm... Mmm... Mmm! Mmm...

Find yourself a moment to be so?

[Verse 2]

Hmm... Mmm... Mmm... Mmm! Mmm...

Ooo.. Ooo.. ohh.. oh-ho... !

Hmm... Mmm... Mmm... Mmm! Mmm...

Ohh... Nothing else matters, so! 

[Saxophone solo - haunting]

[Pre chorus]

It was late enough for you to leave, 

And all I did was simply tell you so. 

Could I have done anything better? 

Perhaps; will we ever really know?

[Saxophone solo] 

[Chorus] 

Time to go. Time to flow;

Time to vanish into the glow.

If you're afraid, I understand,

Trust me, for I do know! 

[Saxophone solo] 

[Verse 3]

Hmm... Mmm... Mmm... Mmm! Mmm...

Your can't find another friend to go!

Hmm... Mmm... Mmm... Mmm! Mmm...

We could do better, however slow.

[Saxophone solo] 

[Pre chorus]

It was late enough for you to leave, 

And all I did was simply tell you so. 

Could I have done anything better? 

Perhaps; will we ever really know?

[Chorus] 

Time to go. Time to flow;

Time to vanish into the glow.

If you're afraid, I understand,

Trust me, for I do know!

[Saxophone solo] 

-- Pradeep K (Prady)

Singer-Songwriter. Jazz-Folk. B Dorian. Haunting. Saxophone. Acoustic guitar. Soulful.

The Forgotten Blacksmith

[Intro - Acoustic guitar solo. Lone melancholic tune.]

[Verse 1]

In a corner past the castle walls,

By the embers dim and old,

A blacksmith toils with calloused hands,

Turning iron into gold.

[Pre-Chorus 1]

Yet when the banners rise at dawn,

And victories are sung,

They name the knight who held the blade,

Not the hands that shaped his lung.

[Chorus]

Strike the steel, bend the flame,

Give it shape, don’t give it name.

A thousand battles, none my own,

Yet the sword I made takes the throne.

[Instrumental break - Acoustic guitar solo. Emotional.]

[Verse 2]

I hear the cheers, I hear the feast,

Through a door that stays locked tight.

The man who swings the gilded blade

Drinks to "glory" in the light.

[Pre-Chorus 2]

But when the edge dulls, when the cracks appear,

And new wars start to brew,

They’ll come crawling back, hat in hand,

For a sword that’s forged anew.

[Chorus]

Strike the steel, bend the flame,

Give it shape, don’t give it name.

A thousand battles, none my own,

Yet the sword I made takes the throne.

[Instrumental break - Acoustic guitar solo. Emotional.]

[Verse 3]

The forge still burns, the bellows groan,

But now my hands are tired.

They’ll find another younger fool,

To bleed upon this fire.

[Outro]

So raise your cups to hollow men,

Let them bask in stolen pride.

But steel remembers who it met,

And fire knows who died.

[Final Acoustic Guitar Solo - Lone melancholic tune.]

-- Pradeep K (Prady)

D Minor. Acoustic Guitar. Mix of folk, blues, and outlaw country with medieval overtones. Warm and weighted male vocals.