Tendon from WINGBACK by Zirui Kong

(Verse 1)
Woke up early, fog on the street,
Shoes by the door, dreams at my feet.
Mama in the kitchen hummin’ that tune,
Coffee and prayer cut through the gloom.
Step out quiet, the world still grey,
Sky half sleep, birds halfway.
Every ripple on the lake like glass,
Showin’ me the future, showin’ me the past.
Knees sore, tendon tight in the dawn,
I been runnin’ circles since I been born.
Never seen waves but I know that sound,
The wind in the trees feel ocean-bound.

(Hook – female vocal lead)
🎵 “Run boy, run, let the water sing…”
“Lake turn sea when you start to believe…”
🎵 “Hold that pain, let it set you free…”
“Keep your faith, keep your speed…”
(background echo)
Tendon… oh, tendon…
Tendon… carry me…

(Verse 2)
Hands in my pockets, head in the clouds,
Talkin’ to God but I don’t speak loud.
These hills too small, my thoughts too wide,
That lake keep whisperin’, “come outside.”
Dreams don’t fit in the town I’m from,
Every block hum like a broken drum.
Posters of places I ain’t yet seen,
Folded inside of my worn-out jeans.
Yeah, I been scared, but I learned to hide,
Faith ain’t courage, it’s the will to try.
So I run, with my breath and my knees,
Sweat taste like salt from imaginary seas.

(Hook – female vocal lead)
🎵 “Run boy, run, let the water sing…”
“Lake turn sea when you start to believe…”
🎵 “Hold that pain, let it set you free…”
“Keep your faith, keep your speed…”
(background echo)
Tendon… oh, tendon…
Tendon… carry me…

(Verse 3)
Bus stop hummin’, sky turnin’ blue,
Pigeons fight crumbs like the old me too.
Pocket got change, not the kind I need,
I want miles, not coins, I want to bleed.
The lake still there, calm as prayer,
Wind in my ear like “boy, don’t stare.”
Every goodbye sound small, I choke,
Cuz I can’t tell if I’m dreamin’ or woke.
My town asleep, my eyes wide open,
Heart half steel, half broken.
If I fall, I fall with grace,
If I rise, it’s from this place.

(Bridge – spoken + female harmony)
🎵 “Don’t stop now…”
🎵 “Don’t stop now…”
(Spoken)
Sometimes your faith’s just friction and strain,
Your body’s the bridge between loss and gain.
Tendon tight, but it won’t tear,
Pain just proof that I was there.

(Verse 4)
One last lap ‘round the lakeside rail,
Shoes tap rhythm, my lungs inhale.
Thinkin’ ‘bout the nights when I begged for a way,
Now the way beggin’ me not to stay.
Ain’t no map for a kid like me,
Only blue light and what I see.
Maybe I’ll fail, maybe I’ll fly,
But I can’t stay still and watch time die.
Every breath now feels like code,
Between the lines where the truth unloads.
And when I go, I’ll carry that sound,
Of small-town waves that never drowned.

(Hook – female vocal lead, final)
🎵 “Run boy, run, let the water sing…”
“Lake turn sea when you start to believe…”
🎵 “Hold that pain, let it set you free…”
“Keep your faith, keep your speed…”
(background echo)
Tendon… oh, tendon…
Tendon… carry me…
🎵 “The lake is a sea…”
“And it’s carryin’ me…”

(Outro)
Yeah…
Wind on my face, light on my knees.
Every ache, every pull — that’s peace.
If you ask where I’m from, don’t ask twice.
I’m from a lake that thought it was the sea.

• Hip-Hop/Rap
• Pop Hip-Hop
• Columbus