{"id":52978,"date":"2026-05-05T13:32:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T13:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/?p=52978"},"modified":"2026-05-05T13:32:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T13:32:15","slug":"line-album","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/2026\/05\/05\/line-album\/","title":{"rendered":"Line (Album)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Line<\/p>\n

Line<\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

From the album “Line<\/a>“<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opening<\/h2>\n

[Intro]
\nOpening line:
\n(\u201cThe opening line.\u201d)
\nNot yet saying much of anything\u2026
\n(But wait till we all sing\u2026)<\/p>\n

[Chorus]
\nHow about we start
\n(With something from the heart)
\nAn opening line
\n(To shine fine)
\nNo need to be smart
\n(Just make it art)
\nFrom the very first sign
\n(It\u2019s yours, it\u2019s mine)<\/p>\n

[Refrain]
\nShine, shine, shine
\n(Shine on our time)
\nShine so fine
\n(Shine, shine, shine)
\nShine!
\n(Let it align)
\nShine!
\n(All in one line)<\/p>\n

[Verse 1]
\nBlank page staring, daring you
\nTo make it something pure and true
\nEvery word a step you take
\nEvery silence wide awake<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t overthink the way it flows
\nJust let the first impression grow
\nA spark becomes a guiding thread
\nBefore a single word is said<\/p>\n

[Pre-Chorus]
\nIt doesn\u2019t need to be profound
\nJust something living, something sound
\nA doorway made of air and light
\nOpening into what feels right<\/p>\n

[Chorus]
\nHow about we start
\n(With something from the heart)
\nAn opening line
\n(To shine fine)
\nNo need to depart
\n(From what you are)
\nJust let it align
\n(It\u2019s opening time)<\/p>\n

[Refrain]
\nShine, shine, shine
\n(Shine on our time)
\nShine so fine
\n(Shine, shine, shine)
\nShine!
\n(Through every line)
\nShine!
\n(It\u2019s all design)<\/p>\n

[Bridge]
\nOne small phrase
\nCan change the room
\nA single breath
\nCan make it bloom<\/p>\n

The start is small
\nBut starts it all
\nA whispered call
\nBefore the fall<\/p>\n

[Build-Up]
\n(One line\u2026)
\n(One light\u2026)
\n(One line\u2026)
\n(It\u2019s right\u2026)<\/p>\n

[Final Chorus]
\nHow about we start
\n(With something from the heart)
\nAn opening line
\n(To shine fine)
\nNo need to restart
\n(It plays its part)
\nFrom the very first sign
\n(It\u2019s opening time)<\/p>\n

[Refrain \/ Outro]
\nShine, shine, shine
\n(Shine on our time)
\nShine so fine
\n(Shine, shine, shine)
\nShine\u2026
\n(Still in my mind)
\nShine\u2026
\n(The opening line\u2026)<\/p>\n

Line<\/h2>\n

[Intro]
\nIt\u2019s about time
\nWe got a line
\nOn reality
\n(Really)<\/p>\n

[Chorus]
\nHave we crossed the line
\n(Stepped past the present)
\nHave we messed with time
\n(Humanity\u2019s crime)
\nAre we too far gone
\n(To rewind the warning)
\nOr just holding on
\n(To a world still forming)<\/p>\n

[Verse 1]
\nStatic in the signal, voices out of phase
\nTruth bent in the mirror of a data haze
\nEvery step we take leaves a deeper trace
\nEtched into the code we can\u2019t erase<\/p>\n

Numbers climb like towers in the sky
\nPredictions sold as reasons why
\nWe justify the shifting ground
\nWhile silence makes the loudest sound<\/p>\n

[Pre-Chorus]
\nWe drew the map but lost the key
\nWe built the lock, forgot to see
\nThe door was never meant to hide
\nWhat we buried deep inside<\/p>\n

[Chorus]
\nHave we crossed the line
\n(Stepped past the present)
\nHave we messed with time
\n(Humanity\u2019s crime)
\nDid we blur the edge
\n(Of what was sacred)
\nFor a thinner thread
\n(Of what we created)<\/p>\n

[Verse 2]
\nCities breathe in rhythms out of sync
\nRivers rise faster than we think
\nEvery warning written in the rain
\nStill we gamble futures for the gain<\/p>\n

Fragments of a timeline split apart
\nLogic fights the chaos in the heart
\nWe keep chasing shadows in the light
\nCalling every wrong turn \u201cright\u201d<\/p>\n

[Pre-Chorus]
\nWe traced the fault but drew it straight
\nIgnored the tremor, tempted fate
\nNow every second feels confined
\nTo the echo of a line<\/p>\n

[Chorus]
\nHave we crossed the line
\n(Stepped past the present)
\nHave we messed with time
\n(Humanity\u2019s crime)
\nIs there still a way
\n(To redraw the border)
\nOr are we the fray
\n(In growing disorder)<\/p>\n

[Bridge]
\nA line in the sand
\nA line in the code
\nA line we defend
\nA line we erode<\/p>\n

We thought it was fixed
\nA boundary, a rule
\nBut lines start to drift
\nWhen drawn by a fool<\/p>\n

[Build-Up]
\n(It\u2019s about time\u2026)
\n(We got a line\u2026)
\n(It\u2019s about time\u2026)
\n(On reality\u2026)<\/p>\n

[Final Chorus]
\nHave we crossed the line
\n(No more pretending)
\nHave we lost the time
\n(No happy ending)
\nCan we still define
\n(What we once believed in)
\nOr erase the line
\n(And start the healing)<\/p>\n

[Outro]
\nIt\u2019s about time\u2026
\nWe draw the line\u2026<\/p>\n

Unaligned (Line) Dance<\/h2>\n

[Intro]
\nDon\u2019t line up\u2026 just move\u2026
\n(To the groove)<\/p>\n

[Refrain]
\nUnaligned Dance
\n(Dance at every chance)
\nIt\u2019s our circumstance
\n(Unaligned Dance!)
\nDance!
\n(\u2026in an unaligned line dance)<\/p>\n

[Verse 1]
\nStep to the side but not the same
\nEveryone\u2019s out of sync in the frame
\nLeft goes right and right goes wrong
\nBut somehow it all fits in the song<\/p>\n

No formation, no command
\nFreestyle rhythm, understand
\nIf you miss it, that\u2019s the plan
\nLose the line and find the jam<\/p>\n

[Pre-Chorus]
\nDon\u2019t wait\u2014just break
\nEvery move you never fake
\nOff-beat\u2014heartbeat
\nLet it pull you from your seat<\/p>\n

[Refrain]
\nUnaligned Dance
\n(Dance at every chance)
\nIt\u2019s our circumstance
\n(Unaligned Dance!)
\nDance!
\n(\u2026in an unaligned line dance)<\/p>\n

[Verse 2]
\nDifferent steps in different time
\nEvery body draws their line
\nNo two moves are ever the same
\nStill we\u2019re all inside the frame<\/p>\n

Turn around or stand in place
\nFind your rhythm, set your pace
\nNo wrong way, no straight advance
\nJust fall into the unaligned dance<\/p>\n

[Pre-Chorus]
\nNo rules\u2014just groove
\nEvery way you wanna move
\nOff-grid\u2014no script
\nLet the pattern start to slip<\/p>\n

[Refrain]
\nUnaligned Dance
\n(Dance at every chance)
\nIt\u2019s our circumstance
\n(Unaligned Dance!)
\nDance!
\n(\u2026in an unaligned line dance)<\/p>\n

[Bridge]
\nOut of line
\n(In time)
\nOff the track
\n(Don\u2019t look back)<\/p>\n

Lose control
\n(Feel the flow)
\nNo design
\n(It\u2019s all fine)<\/p>\n

[Final Drop \/ Refrain]
\nUnaligned Dance
\n(Dance at every chance)
\nIt\u2019s our circumstance
\n(Unaligned Dance!)
\nDance!
\n(\u2026in an unaligned line dance)<\/p>\n

[Outro]
\nDance\u2026
\n(Unaligned\u2026)
\nDance\u2026<\/p>\n

Lucky Break<\/h2>\n

[Verse 1]
\nWalked in late, didn\u2019t plan a thing
\nClock was ticking like a warning ring
\nTurn the corner, what do I find?
\nEmpty space where there\u2019s always a line<\/p>\n

No hesitation, step right through
\nLike the world just made room for you
\nAll the chaos, all the delay
\nTook a pause and slipped away<\/p>\n

[Verse 2]
\nTraffic parts like a hidden door
\nGreen lights line up, nothing more
\nEvery step hits perfectly
\nLike chance is working quietly<\/p>\n

People rushing, unaware
\nThat luck just brushed the air
\nYou don\u2019t chase it, don\u2019t demand
\nIt lands soft, right in your hand<\/p>\n

[Pre-Chorus]
\nIt\u2019s not the plan you draw in lines
\nIt\u2019s what escapes between the signs
\nA fleeting shift, a subtle sign
\nA crack that opens\u2014just in time<\/p>\n

[Chorus]
\nIt\u2019s a lucky break
\n(A short line)
\nThe sake of great
\n(Just in time)
\nShift the weight
\n(Realign)
\nChange of fate
\n(No design)<\/p>\n

[Bridge]
\nA second gained
\nA moment found
\nA quiet space
\nIn all the sound<\/p>\n

We call it luck
\nWe call it chance
\nBut maybe it\u2019s
\nA passing glance<\/p>\n

[Build-Up]
\n(Just in time\u2026)
\n(Just in time\u2026)
\n(Just in time\u2026)<\/p>\n

[Final Chorus]
\nIt\u2019s a lucky break
\n(A short line)
\nThe sake of great
\n(Just in time)
\nHold it close
\n(Don\u2019t define)
\nLet it go
\n(It\u2019s not mine)<\/p>\n

[Outro]
\nYou don\u2019t find it\u2026
\n(Still\u2026 never quit)
\nAnd, luck finds you\u2026
\n(True to what you do)<\/p>\n

Queue<\/h2>\n

[Intro]
\nWhat\u2019s your queue IQ?<\/p>\n

[Chorus]
\nI can\u2019t stand\u2026
\n(\u2026to stand in line)
\nLose command\u2026
\n(\u2026of my time)
\nWait and wait\u2026
\n(\u2026just to move an inch)
\nAnticipate\u2026
\n(\u2026then it starts again)<\/p>\n

[Verse 1]
\nNumbers on a screen, never quite true
\nBlink and it changes, now you\u2019re forty-two
\nPeople shifting weight from foot to foot
\nEvery glance forward like a hook<\/p>\n

Time drips slow in a crowded space
\nEvery second stretches out of place
\nClocks don\u2019t tick, they hesitate
\nIn the gravity of \u201cplease just wait\u201d<\/p>\n

[Pre-Chorus]
\nStep by step, but nothing moves
\nLines rewrite their own grooves
\nOrder fades into delay
\nSystem bends but won\u2019t obey<\/p>\n

[Chorus]
\nI can\u2019t stand\u2026
\n(\u2026to stand in line)
\nLose command\u2026
\n(\u2026of my time)
\nHold the place\u2026
\n(\u2026but lose the thread)
\nFace to face\u2026
\n(\u2026with what we dread)<\/p>\n

[Verse 2]
\nQueue the code, the endless stream
\nDigital lines in a waiting dream
\nBuffered lives in a loading bar
\nAlways close, but never are<\/p>\n

Priority passes, hidden tiers
\nInvisible ladders built on years
\nSome move fast, some barely crawl
\nSame long line beneath it all<\/p>\n

[Pre-Chorus]
\nEvery system has its flaw
\nInvisible but running law
\nYou can\u2019t see it, still you wait
\nAt the edge of \u201calmost late\u201d<\/p>\n

[Chorus]
\nI can\u2019t stand\u2026
\n(\u2026to stand in line)
\nLose command\u2026
\n(\u2026of my time)
\nBreak the chain\u2026
\n(\u2026or fall in place)
\nSame refrain\u2026
\n(\u2026in every space)<\/p>\n

[Bridge]
\nA line in the store
\nA line in the code
\nA line at the door
\nA line that we load<\/p>\n

We think it\u2019s control
\nWe think it\u2019s by design
\nBut we\u2019re just the flow
\nInside the line<\/p>\n

[Build-Up]
\n(What\u2019s your queue\u2026)
\n(What\u2019s your cue\u2026)
\n(What\u2019s your queue\u2026)
\n(IQ\u2026)<\/p>\n

[Final Chorus]
\nI can\u2019t stand\u2026
\n(\u2026to stand in line)
\nLose command\u2026
\n(\u2026of my time)
\nCut ahead\u2026
\n(\u2026or fall behind)
\nAll we dread\u2026
\n(\u2026by design)<\/p>\n

[Outro]
\nWhat\u2019s your queue IQ\u2026
\nWhen the line\u2026
\nIs you\u2026<\/p>\n

High-Water<\/h2>\n

[Intro]
\nThere\u2019s a line\u2026
\nDrawn where the water used to be\u2026
\nMeasured\u2026 marked\u2026 remembered\u2026
\nBut not anymore\u2026
\n(An unsure shore)<\/p>\n

[Build]
\nIt was once in fifty years\u2026
\nNow it\u2019s every few\u2026<\/p>\n

[Chorus]
\nWhat is new?
\n(All\u2019s askew)
\nMovin\u2019 up the high-water line
\n(One more time)
\nTime, time, time
\n(Breaking the baseline)
\nDrawn in sand
\n(No longer stands)
\nMovin\u2019 up the high-water line
\n(One more time)<\/p>\n

[Verse 1]
\nMarked by the debris and the bend in the grass
\nLines in the dirt from the futures we passed
\nOnce just a measure of where it would stay
\nNow it keeps moving, it won\u2019t obey<\/p>\n

Concrete veins and rivers confined
\nChannels designed for a different time
\nStorm drains choke as the pressure climbs
\nEvery inch redraws the line<\/p>\n

[Pre-Chorus]
\nFifty years compressed to days
\nPatterns shifting out of phase
\nOne in a hundred\u2014breaking through
\nNow it\u2019s just what waters do<\/p>\n

[Chorus]
\nWhat is new?
\n(All\u2019s askew)
\nMovin\u2019 up the high-water line
\n(One more time)
\nTime, time, time
\n(No warning sign)
\nCross the edge
\n(Over the ledge)
\nMovin\u2019 up the high-water line
\n(One more time)<\/p>\n

[Verse 2]
\nSaturated ground with nowhere to go
\nImpervious cities reflecting the flow
\nEvery surface turns into a stream
\nOverflow bursting at every seam<\/p>\n

Designed for a past that no longer fits
\nNumbers collapse under stronger hits
\nThreshold crossed and systems unwind
\nFloods don\u2019t stop at the old design<\/p>\n

[Pre-Chorus]
\nEvery few years, the cycle repeats
\nHistory rushing through crowded streets
\nWhat we called rare now defines
\nThe shifting shape of the line<\/p>\n

[Chorus]
\nWhat is new?
\n(All\u2019s askew)
\nMovin\u2019 up the high-water line
\n(One more time)
\nTime, time, time
\n(Accelerating climb)
\nHold the ground
\n(It won\u2019t be found)
\nMovin\u2019 up the high-water line
\n(One more time)<\/p>\n

[Bridge]
\nA line in the soil
\nA line on a chart
\nA line we believed
\nWould not fall apart<\/p>\n

But water remembers
\nWhat we redefine
\nAnd rewrites the edge
\nOf the high-water line<\/p>\n

[Build-Up]
\n(One in a hundred\u2026)
\n(Every few years\u2026)
\n(One in a hundred\u2026)
\n(Already here\u2026)
\n(An unsure shore)
\nAn unsure future<\/p>\n

[Final Chorus]
\nWhat is new?
\n(All\u2019s askew)
\nMovin\u2019 up the high-water line
\n(One more time)
\nTime, time, time
\n(No stable line)
\nDrawn again
\n(And gone again)
\nMovin\u2019 up the high-water line
\n(One more time)<\/p>\n

[Outro]
\nThe line was never fixed\u2026
\nWe were just perplexed
\n(An unsure shore)
\nAn unsure future<\/p>\n

About the Song
\nWhat is a high-water line?
\nThe high-water line is the boundary where a body of water\u2014river, lake, or sea\u2014usually reaches at its highest normal tide or level, often marked by debris, vegetation changes, or sediment deposits. It represents the intersection of the water surface with the shore at peak, non-storm conditions, often used in land surveying.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s happening to the high-water line?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Michael E. Mann at the University of Pennsylvania examined the same real-world case we used in our \u201cviolent rain\u201d experiment\u2014Hurricane Ida flooding the Vine Street Expressway\u2014and reached a similar conclusion: extreme rainfall and flooding impacts are accelerating, with urban infrastructure amplifying the effects.<\/p>\n


\nhttps:\/\/penntoday.upenn.edu\/news\/when-schuylkill-swallowed-city-lessons-hurricane-idas-historic-flood
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Their analysis shows that saturated soils, impervious surfaces, and overwhelmed drainage systems significantly intensify flood severity. Events that were once expected (based on mid-20th-century statistics) to occur roughly every 50 years are now occurring far more frequently\u2014on the order of every few years in some cases. They also identify the so-called \u201c1-in-100-year\u201d threshold as a critical tipping point, where flooding exceeds containment capacity and rapidly spreads across urban areas.<\/p>\n

Findings published in npj Natural Hazards<\/em>:
\n
\nhttps:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s44304-026-00186-8
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Our 2023 work presents a comparable framework, including similar visual evidence in The Philadelphia Violent Rain Experiment<\/em>:
\n
\nhttp:\/\/kingarthur.com\/global_warming\/Violent-Rain.html
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Bottom line:<\/strong> The \u201chigh-water line\u201d is not static\u2014it is rising and occurring more often, driven by both intensifying climate signals and infrastructure that was not designed for today\u2019s extremes.<\/p>\n

Ash Devils and Black Rain (Over the Line)<\/h2>\n

[Intro]
\nTwo systems\u2026
\nOne burning\u2026 one falling\u2026
\n(Hear Mother calling?)
\nDifferent skies\u2026 same line\u2026
\n(Out of time?)
\nOver the line<\/p>\n

[Build]
\nAsh lifts\u2026
\n(Human rifts)
\nRain darkens\u2026
\n(Reason harkens)<\/p>\n

[Chorus]
\nAsh devils and black rain
\n(Are any that remain sane?)
\nHuman suffering and pain
\n(Ash devils and black rain)
\nCross the edge, cross the line
\n(Warning signs we redefine)
\nAsh devils and black rain
\n(Over and over again)<\/p>\n

[Verse 1]
\nHeat bends air till it starts to spin
\nFire writes circles under the wind
\nAsh and embers carried high
\nTwisting signals in the sky<\/p>\n

Ground runs dry, the pressure climbs
\nBuilt for another place in time
\nLines once drawn begin to fade
\nIn every spark the shift is made<\/p>\n

[Pre-Chorus]
\nHot air rises, pulls and turns
\nEvery lesson slowly burns
\nWhat was stable, what was known
\nNow moves in ways we\u2019ve never shown<\/p>\n

[Chorus]
\n[Fuller, Heavier, Cymbal Washes]
\nAsh devils and black rain
\n(Are any that remain sane?)
\nHuman suffering and pain
\n(Ash devils and black rain)
\nSpinning fast, falling slow
\n(Where it stops, we don\u2019t know)
\nAsh devils and black rain
\n(Again and again and again)<\/p>\n

[Verse 2]
\nFire meets steel and fractured ground
\nExplosions tear the silence down
\nSoot ascends, the sky absorbs
\nRain returns what it records<\/p>\n

Blackened drops on land and sea
\nCarrying what we can\u2019t unsee
\nEvery fall a signal sent
\nFrom the cost of what we\u2019ve spent<\/p>\n

[Pre-Chorus]
\nAsh to air and air to rain
\nCycle writes itself again
\nEvery loop accelerates
\nEvery edge destabilizes
\n(No one realizes)<\/p>\n

[Chorus]
\nAsh devils and black rain
\n(Are any that remain sane?)
\nHuman suffering and pain
\n(Ash devils and black rain)
\nLines dissolve, systems strain
\n(Feedback loops we can\u2019t contain)
\nAsh devils and black rain
\n(Again and again and again)<\/p>\n

[Bridge]
\nA line in the fire
\nA line in the sky
\nA line in the water
\nWe thought would hold dry<\/p>\n

But heat feeds the motion
\nAnd motion feeds flame
\nAnd flame feeds the sky
\nThat returns it as rain<\/p>\n

[Build-Up]
\n(More heat\u2026)
\n(More fire\u2026)
\n(More ash\u2026)
\n(More rain\u2026)
\n(More pain\u2026)<\/p>\n

[Final Chorus]
\nAsh devils and black rain
\n(No system remains unchanged)
\nHuman suffering and pain
\n(Written into every chain)
\nOver the line, over again
\n(Where does it end, where does it end?)
\nAsh devils and black rain
\n(Over the line again)<\/p>\n

[Outro]
\nIt\u2019s not one event\u2026
\n(It\u2019s the entire present)
\nIt\u2019s the system\u2026
\n(It\u2019s where I am)
\n(Out of time)
\nOver the line<\/p>\n

[Rain fades \u2192 Silence]<\/p>\n

About the Song
\nAsh Devils and Black Rain: Two Extreme Fire\u2013Carbon Phenomena Emerging From Intensifying Disasters<\/b><\/p>\n

In early May 2026, two striking and very different atmospheric events emerged from fire- and carbon-intensive systems: ash devils in Southern California wildfires<\/strong> and reports of \u201cblack rain\u201d in the Black Sea region following industrial strikes<\/strong>. While geographically and causally distinct, both reflect a broader pattern in which human-driven combustion, infrastructure stress, and atmospheric feedbacks are increasingly interacting in extreme ways.<\/p>\n

\n

Ash Devils: Fire-Driven Atmospheric Vortices<\/h2>\n

During active wildfire operations in Southern California, firefighters observed ash devils<\/strong> near the Trinity Fire in the Phelan area.<\/p>\n

These are fire-generated vortices formed when:<\/p>\n