Most ballads are told

In more than one note

This one consists of five

So listen and hear

As, like Paul Revere,

We race against the night.

This first gear is power

As the engine in this five speed howls

It’s fighting to break through control

The needle daring escape confinement of its crimson lid

And as control loosen the traction slips, you wish it was AWD

Clutch, Shift

And listen to the build up again

The second gear still whines

Though now bounded by more control

A little too much you skid, not enough and you stall

This gear is a  revolution, a turning point for most

For those who stop low it’s either first or what’s next,

No one quits on “not quite it”

The car still roars, the  tires spin and squeal

And despite slightly fed it hungers still, to catch up to the line

No race is won in second, nor in life is it enough for its purpose

So we brave the shift again, but the memory still lingers,

Realizing we're so much further than where we began!

Clutch, Shift

Watch as comfort sets in

The third gear grows tame

Less demanding than it’s brothers

A simple slow build, no need to go much higher

Unless, of course, you’re consumed by desire

To climb and reach towards heavens holy choir

To break the chains that so greedily bind us forever, looking upward

So a step on the gas and a light of the engines fire, sputtering listen for the backfire

Hungrier engines watch what ambition inspires

The only ones who will ever climb higher,

Are those who are willing to hold aspirations even greater

To break the line, to listen for soon to be the last time

The engine roar again!

Clutch, Shift

See where things really begin

Fourth gear,

Fourth gear is plenty,

It’s true that’s what most would say

Now we’re edging closer to hundred

And even the restless engine grows unsure,

Nonetheless, more we say!

Fourth gear climbs, the line grows closer

Still not enough, we must keep going further

Touch the skies as the birds do, soar like hawks of freedom

For most Fourth is enough, but for what some are given there must be more!

This isn’t fast enough, we’re only flying slightly further than before!

And so we brave the final Click! 

Clutch, Shift

A finale more spectacular than before

Fifth is the end, 

The crimson line no  longer taunts us

The throttle climbs high, no one can top us!

With speeds so great we follow our own lines,

Though control will falter in due time,

Some crash, some drive on, 

Now unbounded the engine roars, nothing to control it

But one’s own nerve, but one’s own undying spirit

There is no climb, there is no climatic shift

We soar like eagles, greedy like Phaeton 

Daring a race against the sun

First is a call,

Second is our action,

Third is complacency,

Fourth is true passion

And Fifth, fifth is freedom

Unbounded by deception