Dark folk ballad in a slow half-time sway with fingerpicked acoustic guitar, low frame drum taps, bowed bass drones, and sparse room ambience; verse stays intimate and story-led, pre-chorus tightens with rising harmony, chorus opens on a chantable hook with doubled lead and shadowed backing voices. Use reversed swells, creaking wood accents, and a cold distant whistle before each chorus. Mix is dark, close-mic, and claustrophobic with a wide eerie tail.