Song & Original Writing · Written by Sean Michaelson
Original Writing: 7/11/17 · Song Version: 3/14/26
Original Writing
THE GAME IS NOT DONE (Original Writing – 2017)
Losing hope, sometimes I wish… I don’t know. Sometimes I wish? Maybe wish isn’t the right word? Maybe believe? Sometimes I believe? No, that’s not right either. Sometimes I think about a power in death. Is there any truth to that? At what point do you, what am I trying to ask? Give up? Is there an end? You know there’s a beginning to consciousness but is there an end? Do people really care? Or do they just say what you want to hear? What is the point? Why do we keep going on and on and on? Really! what is the point? We are born into what, a really big shit hole? Seriously, I am not just trying to be negative.
We focus or try to focus on the positive, love, strength, piece, joy, happiness and so on but we find ourselves lost half of the time, going through struggles and trials hoping that people won’t let us down. We rely on the ones who love us to lift us up and some do for sure but most of the time the journey shows that the ones in power strike us down almost every time and then we get up just to be knocked down again. Where is the logic in this?
We struggle and struggle to find our place in life and I’m sure that some do but I am losing hope. I find myself more and more jaded each time I see myself or anyone else fall. People suck? I just hate it. People need help? Sure you can look around all over and see goodness but really the second you start something just wipes it away. Think about it, I mean really think about it. One second you’re happy and feel safe and the next it’s gone. Stripped away by defeat, pain, fear, suffering and so on, so I’m back to asking; what’s the fucking point and wishing for the power of death.
Sometimes I think that those who have died have escaped the misery somehow and I feel happy for them. They are in a better place right? And if God is not real and heaven is a hoax either way what is the point? If you’re one of the lucky ones which I doubt you are that have found a constant true existence of happiness then good for you! But I am losing hope.
For some reason I have a fear of death. Not sure why but I do and through everything I find myself wishing that I did not. At what point do you say; “that’s it I ain’t going any further. This sucks and I’m done!” I don’t want to be afraid of death. I want to embrace it for the easy release I guess, but I can’t. So it sucks to be me. But I do think it would be better to leave this place of shit. Because I am beginning to think that is all there is.
In the end people will always throw you away to protect themselves and it sucks. The mistakes we make in life just mean we need help and compassion but it’s not there; again there are some who try but in the end your efforts don’t matter to those in power and those that do try to help stop or just accept the inevitable.
I wish for the power of death. I long for it really. I have screwed up so much that I really believe with my whole heart that death would be a mercy for those around me. But again being a hypocrite in the end people only think about themselves. I am too afraid to die. So I live and suffer and make those around me suffer so they can live and spread suffering.
I mean really. We fall get up and fall and get up and fall and each time, suffering all around, losing hope. What is the point? Too big of a question to ever be answered I guess. I’m just 129274.
Where do I go from here? How do I even begin to pick up the scattered pieces of this chess game that I never wanted to play in the first place? I always sucked at chess. The strategies, the sacrifices, the outwitting of the other players, I just hate the whole idea but all play none the less because somehow we are forced to by the cosmos or the gods or just the way life is in general.
So I am here caught up in the check mate of life with my pieces slaughtered, scattered by my mistakes and poor decisions. That’s right; I, just like most of us have done this to myself.
So where do I go from here? Even if I find all of the pieces and put them back together, what board do I even play on? I don’t know. But I know I will keep a hold of my hope, because that’s what I do! I mean what else can I do really?
So I take that baby step forward and pray to the gods and plead to anyone I can and scream at the top of my lungs that this will not be the end. That this is just a step to where I am going and no one, no one will hold me back!
I am a person who has made mistakes but will always be a person. My mistakes will never define me. They are there but there is so much more to me than just those few mistakes. I will never be just a number.
Looking back on my life I know that I have done some amazing things. I have come so far and will continue to go further. Through all of the struggles in my life history shows that I not only gather my pieces, find a new board to play on and start playing but I also find another queen or two in the process and my strength and power explode with a vengeance because of those struggles.
So bring it on, I am ready. I will destroy whatever opponent gets in my way and my hopes and dreams will become reality and I will remain a strong man and hold my head high. 129274? Will never be me.
Written by: Sean Michaelson · 7/11/17
The following lyrics were inspired by the original writing above.
The Game Is Not Done (Song Lyrics)
[Verse 1 – soft, reflective]
I wake up asking questions
That nobody can answer
Why we fall and rise and fall again
Through loss and through disaster
One moment life feels steady
The next it slips away
Like someone swept the board clean
And changed the rules of play
[Verse 2 – building]
Every move a sacrifice
Every loss a scar
Pieces scattered everywhere
From battles fought too hard
I never wanted this game
But somehow here I stand
A king with broken pieces
In the ruins of my plans
[Pre-Chorus]
So I stare into the darkness
And wonder what it’s for
Why we keep on fighting
When we’ve lost so much before
[Chorus]
But hope
Hope is stubborn in my chest
A quiet voice that whispers
You are not done yet
Take one step
Even if it’s small
Sometimes the bravest move
Is rising when you fall
[Verse 3 – the deepest moment]
There were nights I nearly gave up
Thought the story had been told
Thought the weight of all my failures
Had finally taken hold
But something in the silence
Would not let me disappear
A stubborn spark inside me
Still whispering I’m here
[Bridge – quiet piano]
Maybe life’s a broken chessboard
Maybe none of it is fair
But the pieces that survive us
Are the ones we choose to bear
And every scar reminds me
Of the battles that I won
And the game is never over
Until the final move is done
[Final Chorus – powerful]
Hope
Hope is louder now inside
A fire in the darkness
I refuse to let it die
One step forward
That’s enough for now
I will gather up my pieces
And I will stand somehow
[Outro – strongest ending]
So let the board reset tonight
Let tomorrow make its start
I am still here breathing
With a stubborn, beating heart
The night can try to break me
But the morning still will come
And I will rise again tomorrow
The game is not done.
Listen to the Full Song
Note: The music and vocal performance for this song were generated using AI tools. The original writing and lyrics were written by me (Sean Michaelson). My hope is to someday collaborate with musicians and vocalists to bring these songs to life in a deeper and more personal way.
