“Breathe Strong Little Fighter” by Into The Afterimage – A Song Feature

 

     We don’t possess the artistic skills to have personally experienced cathartic release through a song of our own. But like all music lovers, the power of a song is sometimes the vehicle for empathetically transporting into deeply emotional real-life experiences of others. “Breathe Strong Little Fighter” carries that power.  
 
     In talking about the song, Ryan Vander Werff of Into the Afterimage shared:
  “This is the most personal song I’ve ever written—about my first son, Niko, and the days we spent in the NICU after he was born with a pneumothorax. It’s a love letter to his fight for breath, and to the quiet, terrifying beauty of watching someone so small teach you what strength really means. Musically, it blends ambient guitars, heartbeat percussion, and cinematic builds—starting with soft tension and swelling into a soaring, choral climax.”
 
     In the opening minute of “Breathe Strong Little Fighter,” and in other parts of the track, the piano and vocals cooperatively alternate in occupying the spotlight while working toward a shared purpose of building beauty and life—in some ways similar to the sun and rain taking turns during the growth of a flower. The weave of piano and vocals possesses an emotional power that is soon complemented by the physical power of commanding percussion. Later in the song, guitar is the sonic drive.
 
     Still, the vocals and the lyrics are the highlight of the single from Vancouver's Into The Afterimage. RJay Dalton has a range, as well as an ease of travel through that range, not available to many vocalists. Our comparison is to Conor Mason, the lead of the UK-based band Nothing but Thieves. The full lyrics are included at the bottom of this post. But the verse that most deeply affects us is “Maybe this is love, to watch and not control // To break, but still believe you’ll breathe, you’ll grow.”
 
      Reading the band’s Spotify bio, we applaud “Into the Afterimage is the project delivering true ROI: Reality, Outrage, Inspiration. Everything else is just background noise,” and “We create music engineered for maximum impact, minimum filler, anthemic hooks, cinematic tension, and drops designed to rearrange your spine. We’re here to merge & mutate: emotionally, sonically, spiritually… and to make you feel at least 3.14% cooler just by having us on your playlist.”

     “Breathe Strong Little Fighter” by Into The Afterimage

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Lyrics of “Breathe Strong Little Fighter” by Into The Afterimage
There’s a hole where the air should stay,
A siren that beeps with your name.
Numbers climb like prayers on the screen,
I count them just to keep me sane.
You move, the world restarts,
Every flicker a fragile art.
 
And I’d give every sleepless hour
To keep your breath from fading away.
 
Breathe on, little fighter
You’re wired to survive.
The room forgets its silence
Each time you open your eyes.
Where I swear I saw the night sky
Fill your fragile lungs tonight.
 
Feeding tubes and heartbeat songs,
Plastic halos that drum along.
You are proof that fear can sing
And mercy sometimes wears a machine.
We’re stitched between alarms and hope,
Learning how to go, but slow.
 
And I’d give every sleepless hour
To keep your breath from fading away.
 
Breathe on, little fighter
You’re wired to survive.
The world holds its breath
Each time you come alive.
Your ribs are drums, your veins are wires,
Oh and for you, sing all the choirs...
 
Maybe this is love
To watch and not control.
To break, but still believe
You’ll breathe, you’ll grow.
Every monitor’s a prayer,
Every sigh’s a vow.
If this is the edge,
Then teach me how to now.
 
Breathe strong, little fighter
You’ve already won.
The fear turns to faith
With each rise of your lungs.
Nice. Inquisitive. Kind.
Obliterates the impossible
One breath at a time...