Aged Beyond Decay - Too Loud to Breathe Lyrics

I step out and the air is heavy
Yesterday hums still close to my skin
But today there's a crack of light
A sense that maybe
This time the noise won't swallow me
Footsteps echo-are they mine?
Whispers tangle in the breeze
I tell myself it's quieter
Naïve enough to believe
The hum it crawls up my spine
But I'm still hopeful
Still walking forward through the blur

The street gnashes at my heels
Colours drip like oil
Blues blend with reds
They scream as they run
Every building pulses
Every step cracks louder
People flicker past like ghosts-
I scan their faces
Scan the silence between their words
It's all too close too bright
The walls are humming
The pavement cracks beneath the weight
Still I keep moving

Now the crowd wraps around me
Voices crash breaking through glass
I hear everything and nothing
Noise stacks like bricks in my chest
My breath too heavy gets lost
Dizzy spinning
The ground pulls me down
I can't escape the flood
The crowd's pulse becomes my own
Hands reaching faces spinning
But I can't find my way out
There's too much
And I can't breathe

Inside the lights burn white
Buzzing like they're alive
Shelves hum objects stare back
Their edges blur
Shapes twist as I blink
I lose track-
Why am I here?
My thoughts drown in static
Too many people too much movement
Every noise claws at me
Grabbing my skin
The aisles stretch
I forget what I was thinking
I need to get out

Back outside
But the city's pulse beats harder now
Every car every voice
It all screams together
Melding into one chaotic hum
I hear it all at once
But nothing makes sense
There's no space between the sounds
No room for me to hide
The pavement pulls me forward
The sky pushes me down
Every shadow breathes in time with the noise
I can't tell where I end and the city begins
It's too much
But I can't stop

Now I'm sinking
The city folds over
Noise turns to shadow
I slip beneath the hum
Each breath sharper
Each sound too loud
There's no room left to hide
No space left to think
The city hums louder
And I fall-
Deeper into the dark between sounds
If I don't find the quiet
It might never come