"Remastered & Original: I'm A Vessel Running Dry^©"
Lyrics by M.S. McKenzie | Performed by The Lyrical Horizon & The Horizon Seekers, Protected by Copyright

Song Lyrics: Written by M.S. McKenzie, All Rights Reserved

"I'm A Vessel Running Dry^©"

[Verse 1]
[Whispered]
[Intimate]
Staring at an empty page
Locked inside this creative cage
Inspiration used to flow
Now I'm trapped in undertow
Words are ashes in my mind
While I search for what's behind (what's behind...)

[Pre-Chorus 1]
[Building Tension]
Every shadow holds a key
To the stories I can't see
Chasing ghosts of yesterday
As my muse just slips away (slips away...)

[Chorus]
[Ethereal]
I'm a vessel running dry
Reaching for a distant sky
Can anybody hear me call?
Through the silence of it all
I need a spark, I need to ignite
But the flame won't burn tonight (won't burn tonight...)

[Verse 2]
[Dark Intensity]
Walking streets at 3 AM
Searching for my voice again
Every window tells a tale
That I'm too numb to unveil
City whispers secrets sweet
While my heart forgets to beat

[Bridge]
[Atmospheric Build]
I found a fragment in the rain
Traced a pattern through my pain
Then I glimpsed what I became
In the echo of my name (of my name...)

[Chorus 2]
[Power Building]
I was drowning in the dark
Now I'm chasing every spark
Finally the walls dissolve
As these patterns start to solve
No more waiting for the muse
Just creating what I choose
(what I choose...)

[Breakdown]
[Minimal]
[Whispered]
I'm still here
I'm still seeking
I'm still dreaming
I'm still me...

[Final Chorus]
[Full Power]
Watch me dive into the void
Turn this emptiness I employed
Finally the channels are clear
As the visions reappear
No more fearing what's unknown
No more waiting all alone

[Outro]
[Fading]
[Soft voice]
Empty page like morning light
Finally learning that my spark takes flight...

[Instrumental Finale]

Song Description:

"I’m A Vessel Running Dry" traces the arc of writer’s block—from suffocating silence to the moment a tiny ember reignites. The narrator wanders rain-slick streets at 3 AM, ears straining for a spark, until self-belief replaces the fleeing muse. What starts as a whispered confession ends in a full-throated vow to create on their own terms.

Musically
Set a brooding 78 BPM pulse in C-sharp minor. An intimate felt-piano and distant vinyl crackle open the first verse; a low, single-note synth swell shadows every line like a lingering doubt. In the pre-chorus muted toms roll under swelling reverse-cymbal breaths, tightening the noose. The first chorus blooms: airy vocal pads, a subtle sub-bass drop, and chiming electric-guitar harmonics that shimmer like stars beyond city fog. Verse 2 deepens the mood—crisply side-chained pads, finger-snapped backbeats, and a lo-fi trumpet line that drifts in and out like passing headlights. The bridge strips to piano, rain-field recording, and layered whispers before exploding into a panoramic final chorus with driving drums, soaring string countermelodies, and a distorted lead-guitar bend that feels like a match striking in slow motion.

Vocally
A breathy baritone or alto delivers the verses almost under their breath, letting consonants crackle. Choruses lift into an earnest, resonant chest voice, doubled an octave up for a fragile halo on phrases like “running dry.” A whisper track ghosts the lead throughout, emphasizing lines such as “won’t burn tonight,” then falls away at the song’s triumphant turn. In the final chorus, stacked gang vocals chant the back-half phrases, signaling the shift from solitary struggle to communal surge.

Dynamics
The piece moves in widening circles: near-silence in Verse 1, measured tension in Pre-Chorus 1, cinematic swell in Chorus 1, a darker valley in Verse 2, and a hush in the bridge that makes the climactic lift feel volcanic. The last downbeat cuts to a lone piano chord that rings out and decays into night sounds, underscoring the lyric “empty page like morning light.”

Imagery
Empty pages feel like winter glass; rain fragments mirror scattered ideas; sparks, flames, and embers track the inner fire. Urban midnight details—quiet sidewalks, neon reflections, whispering windows—root the story in a tangible liminal space where silence and inspiration wrestle.

Overall
The track marries the atmospheric tension of Billie Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted,” the cinematic swell of Sigur Rós, and the earnest grit of Hozier. Within your Optimistic Humanism thread, it offers a universal truth: creativity may ebb, but the well never truly runs dry once you stop waiting for permission to draw.