The Lighthouse Wants Applause

[Intro: foghorn, lonely piano, waves 🌊]

[Verse 1: Maritime Art Rock]
I built myself upon the rocks
Where desperate vessels turn.
I promised every sinking ship
My faithful light would burn.
They called me brave and generous.
They blessed my tireless flame.
But every sailor rescued
Had to memorize my name.

[Chorus: Arena Rock, crashing drums]
I want to guide them home,
But I want them looking back.
I want to be their north star,
Not a lantern on the map.
Is goodness still called goodness
When it needs a cheering crowd?
I shine to save the drowning,
Then demand they praise me loud.

[Verse 2: Dark Cabaret 🎭]
One ship arrived with damage
No beacon could repair.
I offered navigation.
They only needed someone there.
When they sailed without thanking me,
I cursed their safe return.
What kind of lighthouse hates the ships
That no longer need its burn?

[Genre Shift: Post-Hardcore ⚡]
I SAVED YOU!
[Echo] So love me!
I HELD YOU!
[Echo] So owe me!
I made a gift of kindness,
Then enclosed a silent fee.
Was I lighting up the shoreline,
Or directing eyes to me?

[Bridge: Gospel Soul, organ rising]
A light does not own travelers.
A hand does not own trust.
Love cannot call itself a gift
Then turn devotion into must.
I may still enjoy the gratitude.
I may ache when none appears.
But I can shine without converting
Someone’s rescue into cheers.

[Final Chorus: Full choir 🌅]
I’ll try to guide them home
Without demanding they return.
I’ll tend the flame because it matters,
Not because they watch it burn.
The need for recognition
May still thunder through my chest.
But a lighthouse serves the sailors,
Not the hunger to be blessed.

[Outro: waves, lamp clicking off]
Tonight, no ships are watching.
Still, I keep the light.