This track is the "deep space" follow-up to Astro Asphalt. While the previous song focused on the grit of the journey, Nebula Notes is the psychedelic, internal reflection. The production is Dream-Hop: heavy on the reverb, featuring reverse-looping piano chords, muffled drums that feel like they’re underwater, and shimmering "stellar" wind chimes.

Nebula Notes

(Intro) (The sound of a radio dial turning through static, catching fragments of jazz and old soul. A slow, ethereal bassline fades in, sounding warm and rounded.)

(Spoken: "They said the sky was the limit, but that was just the first floor. We’re in the clouds of gas and dust now. Writing letters to the stars... these are the Nebula Notes.")

Verse 1 I’m writing bars on a comet’s tail, drifting through the violet Auto-pilot on the soul, no need for a pilot The atmosphere is indigo, the pressure is a blessing In the middle of the nebula, there’s no more second-guessing I dropped a diamond in the dark just to see if it would glow It turned into a supernova, put on quite a show My thoughts are ultraviolet, things you can’t see with the eye I’m a vivid constellation in a cold and quiet sky Trading oxygen for metaphors, breathing in the glow Watching civilizations rise and fall down far below I’m light-years away from the stress and the static My flow is celestial, my spirit’s cinematic.

Chorus These are Nebula Notes, written in the stardust A message to the dreamers, the ones who had to trust us Floating through the colors of a dying sun’s breath There’s a life in the silence, there’s a beauty in the death Yeah, we’re drifting... drifting... Notes from the nebula, the frequency is shifting.

Verse 2 I saw a cloud of gold dust looking like my mother’s face Funny how the memories follow you to outer space No clocks in the cosmos, time is just a suggestion Every shooting star I see is a lingering question Are we alone in the dark? Or is the dark just a blanket? If I find the meaning of life, I think I’m gonna bank it Put it in a capsule, send it back to the block So the kids in the alley can stop watching the clock I’m a cosmic archivist, collecting the light A silhouette of shadow in the middle of the bright My pen is a pulsar, it’s beating with the rhythm The universe is math and I’m solving every rhythm.

Chorus These are Nebula Notes, written in the stardust A message to the dreamers, the ones who had to trust us Floating through the colors of a dying sun’s breath There’s a life in the silence, there’s a beauty in the death Yeah, we’re drifting... drifting... Notes from the nebula, the frequency is shifting.

Bridge (The drums drop out completely. A haunting, vocoded harmony rises up.) The gas, the dust, the birth of a star... It’s a long way home from wherever we are. But home isn't a place, it’s a vibration. A soul-to-soul cosmic communication. (Stay in the glow. Don't let the cold in.)

Verse 3 The nebula is closing, the colors starting to fade Back to the physical world, back to the light and the shade I’ll tuck these notes in my pocket, keep the dust on my sleeves For the one who searches and the one who believes It’s a quiet kind of power, it’s a calm kind of loud Living with my feet on the earth and my mind in a cloud The ink is made of hydrogen, the paper’s made of time Welcome to the galaxy hidden inside of the rhyme.

Outro (The beat slows to a crawl. The piano loop starts to play backward, fading into the sound of a telescope shutter clicking shut.) Nebula Notes. Keep 'em in your heart for the long nights. When the streetlights don't feel like enough... Look up. We’re all made of the same stuff anyway.