MADRID, Spain, October 25, 2026. There is a moment, early in the morning, before the bells ring and the traffic starts, when the world seems to hold its breath. Mike Sain't Louis, the Madrid-based lyricist, composer and music producer behind GAYFOLK and Planeta Gayfolk, has written a song set entirely in that moment. «Before the Bells» opens with a Spanish lament and then moves into a series of English verses about time, rest and simply staying.
A lament to begin
The song starts with two cries in Spanish: «Ay mi pena», oh, my sorrow, and then the tender diminutive «ay mi penita», oh, my little sorrow. In Andalusian and flamenco traditions, «ay» is a sound of pain and release at once. Beginning this way, the song acknowledges grief before it offers calm. The diminutive softens it, as if the narrator were cradling the pain rather than fighting it.
Before
Then the English verses begin, each structured around the word «before». «Before the bells remember how to ring, / Before the night is told what it should bring». The bells «remember», as if even they need to wake up. The night is «told» what to bring, as if it had no choice. This is a world not yet organised, not yet under orders.
In that pause, «We sit with what we cannot make behave». It is a beautiful line about accepting what cannot be controlled: emotions, memories, illness, other people. We do not fix them. We sit with them.
Time loosens
The refrain of the first verse is repeated twice: «Time loosens what it came to claim». It is a hopeful idea, expressed with restraint. Time does not heal everything, the song implies, but it loosens its grip. What felt as tight as a vice becomes a little less tight. Anyone who has lived through grief or trauma will recognise the truth of this gradual release.
Hands forget the fight
The second verse moves inward. Before names are «spoken into stone», a phrase that evokes gravestones, before the body learns to stand alone, «The hands forget the shape of every fight, / The heart unknots itself without a light». Healing here is physical. The hands relax; the heart, described as a knot, slowly loosens even in the dark.
Then the song states its philosophy plainly: «No victory, no hidden plan, / Just being here the best we can». This is perhaps the most important line in the song. It rejects the idea that recovery must be heroic or strategic. Sometimes the only goal is to remain.
Not hope, not faith
The final verse goes further. Before the morning demands that we be loud, before the world decides what is allowed, «There is a warmth that doesn't ask for proof». It is «Not hope, not faith, not something new, / Just staying where the breath stays true». The song refuses even the comforting words of hope and faith, preferring something more basic: the breath, the simple fact of continuing.
For listeners who are tired of being told to stay positive, this is a relief. The song does not ask for optimism. It asks only for presence.
A song for the hard mornings
«Before the Bells» belongs to the contemplative strand of Mike's English-language work, alongside lullabies such as «Holy Stillness». It is suitable for quiet moments: early mornings, vigils, the first days after a loss. Its message is gentle but firm: staying is enough.
If staying feels hard
If you are struggling to see a reason to keep going, please know that you do not have to face the early hours alone. In Spain, call 024 for free, confidential support at any time; in an emergency, call 112. Outside Spain, local emergency services and crisis lines are there for you. Mike shares his own experience of psychiatric and psychological care because staying, and asking for help, saved his life.
How it was made
Mike Sain't Louis writes every lyric and directs the production of each release. The music and vocal performance are made with AI, his tool for producing and arranging. He presents himself as the first AI songwriter, «el primer cantautor IA».
Watch and download
The official video can be seen on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN7ghV-eD5A. «Before the Bells» is free to download with no account required from his downloads page and from the free shop of Planeta Gayfolk.
- About the song: https://mikesaintlouis.com/blog/before-the-bells
- Lyric: https://gayfolkplanet.com/letras/before-the-bells
- Free downloads: https://mikesaintlouis.com/descargas
- Free shop: https://gayfolkplanet.com/tienda
About Mike Sain't Louis: lyricist, composer and music producer based in Madrid, creator of GAYFOLK and Planeta Gayfolk. He writes all his lyrics; the music and vocal performance are made with AI. Label: MIKE SAIN'T LOUIS. Distribution: Ditto Music. Website: https://mikesaintlouis.com · Press: https://gayfolkplanet.com/prensa He presents himself as the first AI songwriter («el primer cantautor IA»). Listen to and download all his music for free at https://mikesaintlouis.com/descargas and https://gayfolkplanet.com/tienda