Lantern Mind — Original Song by Nikki Sings (Cinematic Technical Rap)

“Lantern Mind” is a cinematic technical rap about memory, fear, trauma, faith, and the stubborn little flame that refuses to go out. Sometimes the mind feels like a dark room full of old echoes. Every shadow grows teeth. Every silence starts talking. But even when the flame shakes, even when it’s scorched, it can still be held up. This song is for anyone still walking through the ruins with a light in their hand. —Nikki Lyrics: [Verse 1] I carry ash in the seams of my coat Old names still knock when I try to let go A bruise on my memory, tucked in a box I’ve mapped every fracture, the locks, and the knots Your hands left weather in the shape of my face So I learned how to smile with a tremor in place I walk like I owe the dark something still But I keep one small flame where the fear can’t kill [Pre-Chorus] If I blink, it comes back That room, that crack If I breathe, it hums Like a drum in the black Still I step through Still I choose [Chorus] Oh, the mind is but a lantern When the oil of faith runs dry Every shadow grows a monster Every silence learns to sigh Oh, the mind is but a lantern And I’m holding it up high Even shaking, even scorched I will not let it die [Verse 2] I learned every echo can dress up like truth Wear your oldest regret in the bones of your youth The hallway of maybes, a staircase of blame I’ve been feeding my ghost with the heat of my shame But the wick still remembers the touch of a spark And a fistful of dawn can still split through the dark So I name what I’ve buried, I face what I’ve feared Let the smoke write my story, let it thin in the air [Pre-Chorus] If I break, I bend If I sink, I swim I have lived in the ruins And I’m climbing again Still I step through Still I choose [Chorus] Oh, the mind is but a lantern When the oil of faith runs dry Every shadow grows a monster Every silence learns to sigh Oh, the mind is but a lantern And I’m holding it up high Even shaking, even scorched I will not let it die [Bridge] [Breakdown] I’ve been the lock I’ve been the key I’ve been the door That won’t let me leave But I hear my own name On the other side Soft as a match Cutting through the night [Double Time Verse] Fast hands, black thoughts, I outpace the dread Run the tape, cut the chains, got a pulse in my head Old pain tried to crown me, I broke that ring I was born in the burn, still I learned to sing Every crack in the glass let the truth look through What was meant to bury me only made me new I don’t need spotless, I need still here I don’t need perfect, I need less fear So I lift that flame when the cold come near Let it shake, let it waver, let it stay right here [Final Chorus] Oh, the mind is but a lantern When the oil of faith runs dry Every shadow grows a monster Every silence learns to sigh Oh, the mind is but a lantern And I’m holding it up high Even shaking, even scorched I will not let it die Oh, the mind is but a lantern Watch me carry it tonight Past the wreckage, past the ruin I am still alive #LanternMind #NikkiSings #OriginalSong #CinematicRap #TechnicalRap #DarkRap #EmotionalRap #MentalHealthSong #FaithAndFear #OriginalMusic #IndieArtist #Songwriter