Hey Jamal! Welkom bij deze speciale aflevering van onze podcast, waar we jouw nieuwste muzikale project eens goed onder de loep nemen. Ik heb me verdiept in het concept en de eerste nummers, en ik moet zeggen: het klinkt veelbelovend en zit verrassend diep!
Wat je hier hebt neergezet, Jamal, is echt een ambitieus plan. Je werkt aan een serie van vier EP’s, elk met een heel eigen karakter en een unieke stem. Vandaag duiken we specifiek in de eerste EP, die je 'Milo' noemt. Hierin breng je een eerbetoon aan de iconische sound van Michael Jackson, vooral uit zijn 'Thriller'-periode. Denk aan strakke funk, pakkende pop-R&B, nummers waar je niet op stil kunt blijven staan, met die kenmerkende spanning en natuurlijk die scherpe falsetto die zo herkenbaar is voor die tijd. De stem die je daarvoor voor ogen hebt, 'Milo', is dan ook precies dat: funky, energiek, en met die moeiteloze hoogtes.
Het mooie is dat alle songteksten volledig origineel zijn; geen bestaande regels overgenomen, alles is vers uit jouw pen gekomen, en elk nummer heeft een complete structuur – dus volwaardige tracks. En die teksten, Jamal, die pakken echt breed uit.
Aan de ene kant heb je nummers die behoorlijk maatschappijkritisch zijn. Denk aan tracks die de vinger leggen op valse beschuldigingen en publieke veroordeling – hoe roddels iemands reputatie kunnen schaden zonder bewijs. Er is zelfs een nummer dat ons wakker schudt over de toestand van onze planeet, een dringende 'countdown naar nul' als we niet snel handelen. Die maatschappelijke boodschap zit er echt in.
Maar er is ook veel ruimte voor persoonlijke reflectie. Je verkent de eenzaamheid die hand in hand kan gaan met roem en succes, en de vaak oppervlakkige aard van 'papieren kronen'. Daarnaast moedig je zelfreflectie aan, met het idee dat de verandering die we in de wereld willen zien, begint bij onszelf. Een echte 'Man in the Mirror'-vibe, maar dan op jouw manier.
En natuurlijk, het is Michael Jackson-stijl, dus dansen staat centraal! Er zijn nummers die je meenemen naar de dansvloer met een 'elektrische hartslag', pure energie en vreugde. Maar ook de intieme kant komt aan bod, zoals een romantische serenade onder de straatlampen, gewoon jij en je geliefde in de stad. En voor de fans van 'Thriller' zelf, is er een track die je meesleept in een verhaal vol suspense en een onheilspellende sfeer, een 'schaduw aan de deur' die je kippenvel bezorgt.
Het is een rijke verzameling, Jamal, die zowel je voeten aan het werk zet als je aan het denken zet, allemaal verpakt in die fantastische, herkenbare sound.
Een ontzettend boeiend project, Jamal. Ik ben echt onder de indruk van de diepgang en de muzikale visie die hier samenkomen. Ik kan niet wachten om te horen hoe dit zich verder ontwikkelt en om meer van die 'Milo'-sound te horen, en natuurlijk de andere EP's die nog komen. Heel veel succes, en bedankt dat je dit met ons wilde delen!
Volledige, originele Engelse songteksten voor vier EP's, elk gekoppeld aan een eigen stem. Alle teksten zijn origineel voor dit project geschreven — geen bestaande songteksten overgenomen. Elk nummer heeft een volledige structuur (coupletten, refrein, brug, outro) zodat het een compleet nummer wordt.
Style: Michael Jackson / Thriller-era — tight funk/pop-R&B, danceable, tension, social message, falsetto.
Voice: "Milo" — tight funky male voice with sharp falsetto, 80s pop-funk.
All lyrics 100% original, written in English. No lines taken from any existing song.
[Verse 1]
Streetlights whisper what they think they saw,
a name gets carried out the swinging door.
Somebody said it, now they say it's true,
a paper headline with my face on you.
I never touched the fire that they claim,
but every rumor spells another shame.
[Pre-Chorus]
And the phone don't stop, the walls got ears,
they build a courtroom out of all my years.
[Chorus]
It's a midnight verdict, guilty on a lie,
they hang your reputation up to dry.
No judge, no jury, just a whispered crime,
a midnight verdict stealing all my time.
Oh, midnight verdict — set me free.
[Verse 2]
She smiled so sweetly when she cut me deep,
sold me a secret that I couldn't keep.
The crowd don't question, they just take the bait,
a hungry silence at the courtroom gate.
I count the shadows moving on the floor,
they got a sentence waiting at my door.
[Pre-Chorus]
And the phone don't stop, the walls got ears,
they build a courtroom out of all my years.
[Chorus]
It's a midnight verdict, guilty on a lie,
they hang your reputation up to dry.
No judge, no jury, just a whispered crime,
a midnight verdict stealing all my time.
Oh, midnight verdict — set me free.
[Bridge]
Tell me who decided, tell me when,
that a lie could weigh more than ten good men.
I'll walk through the fire, I'll take the heat,
but I won't confess to a crime you keep.
No — I won't confess, no.
[Chorus]
It's a midnight verdict, guilty on a lie,
they hang your reputation up to dry.
No judge, no jury, just a whispered crime,
a midnight verdict stealing all my time.
Oh, midnight verdict — set me free.
[Outro]
Whisper, whisper, let it fall,
truth is standing in the hall.
Midnight verdict, hear me plead,
I'm the only one you'll ever need... to believe.
[Verse 1]
Kick off your shoes, the night is young and loud,
the bass is climbing, lift me off the ground.
I feel the rhythm running through my veins,
a thousand voltage rolling like a train.
You grab my hand and pull me to the light,
we're gonna burn this city down tonight.
[Pre-Chorus]
Feel it, feel it, in your chest,
a beat that never lets you rest.
[Chorus]
Electric heartbeat, boom, boom, feel the flow,
turn it up until we lose control.
Electric heartbeat, dancing on a wire,
we're jumping higher, higher, higher!
Ooh — electric heartbeat.
[Verse 2]
The mirror ball is scattering the stars,
we're spinning free like neon shooting cars.
No worries follow us onto the floor,
we leave our troubles waiting at the door.
Your laughter echoes louder than the sound,
we found the joy that no one else has found.
[Pre-Chorus]
Feel it, feel it, in your chest,
a beat that never lets you rest.
[Chorus]
Electric heartbeat, boom, boom, feel the flow,
turn it up until we lose control.
Electric heartbeat, dancing on a wire,
we're jumping higher, higher, higher!
Ooh — electric heartbeat.
[Bridge]
Don't stop, don't stop, keep the fever high,
we're painting colors all across the sky.
Move your body, let the good times roll,
a supercharge is running through my soul.
Yeah — running through my soul.
[Chorus]
Electric heartbeat, boom, boom, feel the flow,
turn it up until we lose control.
Electric heartbeat, dancing on a wire,
we're jumping higher, higher, higher!
Ooh — electric heartbeat.
[Outro]
Boom, boom, boom, can't slow it down,
best electric feeling in the town.
Electric heartbeat all night long,
keep it moving, keep it strong.
[Verse 1]
I turned the news off, couldn't take no more,
another sorrow knocking at the door.
I pointed fingers at the distant sky,
then caught my own reflection asking why.
The change I begged for, standing far away,
was waiting in the choices of my day.
[Pre-Chorus]
So I look, I look inside,
no more places left to hide.
[Chorus]
I'm the mirror of the world, what I give is what I get,
every kindness that I plant is a debt I won't forget.
If I want a brighter morning I must be the rising sun,
I'm the mirror of the world — and the change has just begun.
[Verse 2]
A little hand reached up and held my own,
reminded me that no one stands alone.
We blame the mountains, blame the falling rain,
but love's a river we can build again.
Don't wait for heroes coming from above,
the strongest army is a heart of love.
[Pre-Chorus]
So I look, I look inside,
no more places left to hide.
[Chorus]
I'm the mirror of the world, what I give is what I get,
every kindness that I plant is a debt I won't forget.
If I want a brighter morning I must be the rising sun,
I'm the mirror of the world — and the change has just begun.
[Bridge]
It starts with me, it starts with you,
a single candle breaking through.
One by one the darkness clears,
we wash away a thousand years.
Yeah — it starts right here.
[Chorus]
I'm the mirror of the world, what I give is what I get,
every kindness that I plant is a debt I won't forget.
If I want a brighter morning I must be the rising sun,
I'm the mirror of the world — and the change has just begun.
[Outro]
Look inside, look inside,
that's where all the answers hide.
Mirror of the world, we shine,
your reflection into mine.
[Verse 1]
The clock struck something colder than the night,
the candle flickered, then it lost its light.
I heard a footstep dragging down the hall,
a crooked shadow crawling up the wall.
I told myself it's only in my head,
then something whispered, "come and join the dead."
[Pre-Chorus]
Lock the window, hold me tight,
there's something hungry out tonight.
[Chorus]
There's a shadow at the door, and it's calling out my name,
a hollow, howling darkness with a heart of icy flame.
Don't you open, don't you answer, keep your feet upon the floor,
'cause you'll never be the same once there's a shadow at the door.
[Verse 2]
The mirror cracked and something crawled inside,
a grinning face with nowhere left to hide.
The temperature is falling like a stone,
I feel it breathing, and I'm not alone.
The floorboards moan a funeral so slow,
it wants to take me somewhere I won't go.
[Pre-Chorus]
Lock the window, hold me tight,
there's something hungry out tonight.
[Chorus]
There's a shadow at the door, and it's calling out my name,
a hollow, howling darkness with a heart of icy flame.
Don't you open, don't you answer, keep your feet upon the floor,
'cause you'll never be the same once there's a shadow at the door.
[Bridge]
(Ha!) The walls are closing, hear the wind begin to scream,
you can't wake up 'cause you never were asleep — it's not a dream.
The candles die, the laughter grows,
it counts the nights and no one knows.
Run — run — run, don't look behind,
it's living in your restless mind.
[Chorus]
There's a shadow at the door, and it's calling out my name,
a hollow, howling darkness with a heart of icy flame.
Don't you open, don't you answer, keep your feet upon the floor,
'cause you'll never be the same once there's a shadow at the door.
[Outro]
Knock, knock — who is there?
Cold breath crawling up the stair.
Shadow, shadow, fade away...
but it only comes to stay.
[Verse 1]
They spelled my name in lights across the town,
they gave me diamonds and a paper crown.
The cameras flashing every place I go,
but no one sees the lonely undertow.
I smile for millions, then I close the door,
and hear the silence louder than before.
[Pre-Chorus]
And the stage goes dark, the crowd goes home,
and I'm the king of nothing, all alone.
[Chorus]
Paper crowns, they tear so easy in the rain,
paper crowns can't hold the weight of all this pain.
I traded every quiet morning for the sound,
now I'm a lonely little boy in paper crowns.
[Verse 2]
The strangers love a name they've never met,
they love the me that I could never get.
I'd give the whole parade, the golden throne,
for one true friend who calls me on the phone.
The higher up the mountain that I climb,
the colder is the wind, and lonelier the time.
[Pre-Chorus]
And the stage goes dark, the crowd goes home,
and I'm the king of nothing, all alone.
[Chorus]
Paper crowns, they tear so easy in the rain,
paper crowns can't hold the weight of all this pain.
I traded every quiet morning for the sound,
now I'm a lonely little boy in paper crowns.
[Bridge]
Somebody hold me, not the name I wear,
just hold the boy who's frightened over there.
The applause fades out to empty air,
and I would trade it all just to be somewhere
where somebody knows me — really knows me there.
[Chorus]
Paper crowns, they tear so easy in the rain,
paper crowns can't hold the weight of all this pain.
I traded every quiet morning for the sound,
now I'm a lonely little boy in paper crowns.
[Outro]
Paper crowns... falling down,
softly to the empty ground.
If you see me, take my hand,
help a lonely king to stand.
[Verse 1]
The summer air is sweeter than perfume,
you walk beside me under half a moon.
The corner cafe's playing something slow,
a melody that only lovers know.
Your shoulder brushing softly into mine,
and every streetlight glows like it's a sign.
[Pre-Chorus]
Stay a little longer, don't go home,
I never want to walk these streets alone.
[Chorus]
This is a streetlight serenade, just you and me tonight,
dancing to a radio and city candlelight.
Hold me on the sidewalk while the whole world fades away,
sing me one more streetlight serenade.
[Verse 2]
The fountains shimmer, whispering our names,
and all my worries lose their little games.
You spin around and laugh into the breeze,
you brought my heart down softly to its knees.
No fancy ballroom, no expensive night,
just cracked old pavement bathing us in light.
[Pre-Chorus]
Stay a little longer, don't go home,
I never want to walk these streets alone.
[Chorus]
This is a streetlight serenade, just you and me tonight,
dancing to a radio and city candlelight.
Hold me on the sidewalk while the whole world fades away,
sing me one more streetlight serenade.
[Bridge]
Ooh, the city's ours, the night is long,
your heartbeat is my favorite song.
Let the morning take its time,
your hand in mine, your lips on mine.
Ooh — your lips on mine.
[Chorus]
This is a streetlight serenade, just you and me tonight,
dancing to a radio and city candlelight.
Hold me on the sidewalk while the whole world fades away,
sing me one more streetlight serenade.
[Outro]
Streetlight serenade, so sweet,
two hearts on an empty street.
Sing it soft and sing it true,
this one's only meant for you.
[Verse 1]
The rivers running dry beneath the sun,
the forest whispers, "what have we become?"
The glaciers weeping into rising tides,
and still we're arguing on different sides.
The clock is ticking louder every day,
and we keep looking somewhere else to blame.
[Pre-Chorus]
Wake up, wake up, before it's gone,
there ain't another world to move onto.
[Chorus]
It's a countdown to zero, tick, tick, hear the sound,
we're the only ones who'll save this precious ground.
Every second matters, every hand can hold the key,
it's a countdown to zero — it's up to you and me.
[Verse 2]
A little seed can grow into a shade,
a single choice can turn the tide we made.
Don't tell me it's too late to plant the tree,
tomorrow's breathing on the child you'll be.
We share one sky, one ocean, and one flame,
so let's stop passing off the fear and shame.
[Pre-Chorus]
Wake up, wake up, before it's gone,
there ain't another world to move onto.
[Chorus]
It's a countdown to zero, tick, tick, hear the sound,
we're the only ones who'll save this precious ground.
Every second matters, every hand can hold the key,
it's a countdown to zero — it's up to you and me.
[Bridge]
Ten — nine — the time is now,
eight — seven — we'll show them how.
Six — five — don't turn away,
we still can change it all today.
Stand up now — no more delay!
[Chorus]
It's a countdown to zero, tick, tick, hear the sound,
we're the only ones who'll save this precious ground.
Every second matters, every hand can hold the key,
it's a countdown to zero — it's up to you and me.
[Outro]
Tick, tick, tick — don't let it end,
the earth is calling, be its friend.
Countdown to zero, take a stand,
the future's resting in your hand.
[Verse 1]
You shook my hand and smiled right in my eyes,
then sold my secrets wrapped in sweet disguise.
I thought you had my back against the wall,
you were the loudest laughing at my fall.
I see the daylight glinting off the blade,
a friendly poison in the toast we made.
[Pre-Chorus]
Don't come closer, keep your grin,
I know exactly where you've been.
[Chorus]
It's a two-faced game, and you play it oh so well,
a devil in a suit with a story you don't tell.
You wear a mask of friendship but you're burning it in flame,
I'm done, I'm out — I quit your two-faced game.
[Verse 2]
The knives were hidden in your fancy words,
you fed me lies and called 'em singing birds.
But every mask has got a seam that shows,
and karma follows everywhere it goes.
So keep your riches built on borrowed lies,
I'd rather walk than trade my honest eyes.
[Pre-Chorus]
Don't come closer, keep your grin,
I know exactly where you've been.
[Chorus]
It's a two-faced game, and you play it oh so well,
a devil in a suit with a story you don't tell.
You wear a mask of friendship but you're burning it in flame,
I'm done, I'm out — I quit your two-faced game.
[Bridge]
Beat it back, I see you clear,
your kind of poison won't stay near.
Stand your ground and speak the truth,
don't let 'em steal your fire, your youth.
No more — I'm walking through the door.
[Chorus]
It's a two-faced game, and you play it oh so well,
a devil in a suit with a story you don't tell.
You wear a mask of friendship but you're burning it in flame,
I'm done, I'm out — I quit your two-faced game.
[Outro]
Two faces, one big lie,
watch me wave the game goodbye.
Keep your smile, keep your shame,
I'm done with your two-faced game.
[Verse 1]
I used to hold my heart behind a wall,
afraid to jump in case I'd only fall.
But then you looked at me and something broke,
a gentle fire underneath the smoke.
You took my hand and told me not to fear,
and suddenly the sky felt very near.
[Pre-Chorus]
So I let go, I let it be,
I fall so soft when you catch me.
[Chorus]
Weightless, floating up above the ground,
weightless, I don't make a single sound.
In your arms I lose the world I knew,
weightless, I surrender all to you.
Ooh — weightless with you.
[Verse 2]
No gravity can hold me when we touch,
I never thought that love could feel this much.
The morning light is dancing on your face,
and every fear dissolves without a trace.
I'm not afraid to give you all of me,
you make the falling feel like being free.
[Pre-Chorus]
So I let go, I let it be,
I fall so soft when you catch me.
[Chorus]
Weightless, floating up above the ground,
weightless, I don't make a single sound.
In your arms I lose the world I knew,
weightless, I surrender all to you.
Ooh — weightless with you.
[Bridge]
Take my heart, it's yours to keep,
carry me while I'm asleep.
No walls, no chains, no need to hide,
I'm drifting on your rising tide.
Ooh — forever by your side.
[Chorus]
Weightless, floating up above the ground,
weightless, I don't make a single sound.
In your arms I lose the world I knew,
weightless, I surrender all to you.
Ooh — weightless with you.
[Outro]
Weightless, drifting, soft and slow,
never letting go.
In your love I'll always stay,
weightless, floating away.
[Verse 1]
He walks in glowing with a silver tongue,
a promise painted on his platinum gun.
He sells you heaven for a monthly fee,
a plastic future you will never see.
The neon halo flickers overhead,
he speaks of angels while he counts the dead.
[Pre-Chorus]
Don't you buy it, don't you kneel,
his golden dream is made of steel.
[Chorus]
He's a neon prophet selling lies that shine so bright,
a hollow revelation in the electric night.
He'll take your last tomorrow with a smile you can't forget,
don't believe the neon prophet — you'll be in his debt.
[Verse 2]
He knows your weakness, whispers what you crave,
he builds a temple out of your own grave.
The billboards blink his gospel through the smog,
a shepherd feeding wolves and calling dogs.
But look behind the curtain, see the wires,
there's nothing holy burning in his fires.
[Pre-Chorus]
Don't you buy it, don't you kneel,
his golden dream is made of steel.
[Chorus]
He's a neon prophet selling lies that shine so bright,
a hollow revelation in the electric night.
He'll take your last tomorrow with a smile you can't forget,
don't believe the neon prophet — you'll be in his debt.
[Bridge]
Wake up, wake up, cut the wire,
walk away from the neon fire.
The truth don't glow, the truth don't sell,
it just stands quiet where you fell.
Rise up now — break the spell.
[Chorus]
He's a neon prophet selling lies that shine so bright,
a hollow revelation in the electric night.
He'll take your last tomorrow with a smile you can't forget,
don't believe the neon prophet — you'll be in his debt.
[Outro]
Neon prophet, fade to black,
we're not buying, don't come back.
Turn the lights off on the show,
this is one way you won't go.
[Verse 1]
The sky broke open on my only day,
the clouds came rolling, washed my plans away.
I could've cried and shuttered up the door,
but I ain't gonna let the thunder score.
So I kicked my shoes off, ran into the street,
and let the raindrops fall right to the beat.
[Pre-Chorus]
Sometimes the storm's the only way,
to teach your feet to dance and play.
[Chorus]
So dance the rain away, come on and move with me,
the harder that it pours, the louder we can be.
When the whole world's crying we'll be laughing in the gray,
come on and dance, come on and dance the rain away!
[Verse 2]
My pockets empty and my luck run dry,
but I found a rhythm in the crying sky.
The puddles splashing like a golden drum,
I'm spinning circles till the sunshine come.
You can't stop living just because it's hard,
I'll play my music in my rain-soaked yard.
[Pre-Chorus]
Sometimes the storm's the only way,
to teach your feet to dance and play.
[Chorus]
So dance the rain away, come on and move with me,
the harder that it pours, the louder we can be.
When the whole world's crying we'll be laughing in the gray,
come on and dance, come on and dance the rain away!
[Bridge]
Let it pour, let it fall,
we'll be dancing through it all.
Every teardrop from the sky
becomes a reason to get high.
Woo! — throw your hands up to the gray!
[Chorus]
So dance the rain away, come on and move with me,
the harder that it pours, the louder we can be.
When the whole world's crying we'll be laughing in the gray,
come on and dance, come on and dance the rain away!
[Outro]
Splash, splash, stomp and sway,
we found joy in a stormy day.
Nothing gonna steal our sun,
dance the rain away — come on!
[Verse 1]
There's a red light blinking in the corner of my room,
a silent little eye inside the gloom.
I feel them counting every step I take,
recording every breath for goodness sake.
No curtain thick enough to close the view,
they're always watching everything you do.
[Pre-Chorus]
Hush now, hush, don't make a sound,
they got their cameras all around.
[Chorus]
The watchers, the watchers, never blink and never sleep,
they file away your secrets in a vault they always keep.
You can run down every alley, you can hide behind the wall,
but the watchers, the watchers, they can see it all.
[Verse 2]
Your face becomes a number in a file,
they trade your quiet moments for a while.
No whisper is too soft, no room too far,
they know exactly who and where you are.
I used to think that freedom meant to hide,
now every shadow's got a lens inside.
[Pre-Chorus]
Hush now, hush, don't make a sound,
they got their cameras all around.
[Chorus]
The watchers, the watchers, never blink and never sleep,
they file away your secrets in a vault they always keep.
You can run down every alley, you can hide behind the wall,
but the watchers, the watchers, they can see it all.
[Bridge]
Who is watching over you?
Who decides what's false and true?
A thousand eyes behind the glass,
they'll never, ever let you pass.
Stay still — they're coming through.
[Chorus]
The watchers, the watchers, never blink and never sleep,
they file away your secrets in a vault they always keep.
You can run down every alley, you can hide behind the wall,
but the watchers, the watchers, they can see it all.
[Outro]
Blink, blink, the red light glows,
somebody sees, somebody knows.
The watchers whisper, soft and low...
there's nowhere left, nowhere to go.
Twelve original songs. Soul / funk, warm message, groove. All lyrics 100% original, written for the fixed voice "Ezra Bloom."
[Verse 1]
Copper light on a corner store window
Steam off the sidewalk when the rain lets go
Old man whistling something out of tune
And the whole block wakes up humming by noon
I know these cracks in the pavement by name
No two mornings ever quite the same
[Pre-Chorus]
And every door I ever knocked
Still holds a little of my heart
The bell above the bakery
Still knows me from the start
[Chorus]
Morning on Marlow Street
Where the whole world learned to walk on my two feet
Sun on the rooftops, gold in the heat
Oh, sweet morning on Marlow Street
[Verse 2]
Miss Delia sweeping, keeping time to the radio
Kids on the stoop where the marigolds grow
A trumpet leaning out of a second-floor sill
Playing to nobody, playing it still
The barber flips his sign around to Open
And the day begins the way it's always spoken
[Pre-Chorus]
And every face I ever passed
Left a little of their shine
This crooked, laughing avenue
Is stitched into my spine
[Chorus]
Morning on Marlow Street
Where the whole world learned to walk on my two feet
Sun on the rooftops, gold in the heat
Oh, sweet morning on Marlow Street
[Bridge]
They may build it up, they may tear it down
But you can't undo the sound of a growing-up town
The laughter in the alley, the choir through the wall
It lives in me now, I carry it all
[Chorus]
Morning on Marlow Street
Where the whole world learned to walk on my two feet
Sun on the rooftops, gold in the heat
Oh, sweet morning on Marlow Street
[Outro]
Whoa, sweet, sweet morning
Bells and birdsong, easy and free
Marlow Street, you're still in me
Marlow Street, come rise with me
[Verse 1]
Coffee going cold and I don't even mind
A song on the kitchen tile, taking its time
The dog at my ankle, the light through the blind
Small little wonders I'm blessed to find
I used to want the mountain, the roar, the applause
Now I'm counting the pennies of an ordinary cause
[Pre-Chorus]
'Cause it's not the loudest thing
That keeps a heart alive
It's the quiet little kindness
That helps you make it through the drive
[Chorus]
So I count the reasons, one, two, three
Every good thing standing right in front of me
More than I can hold, more than I can see
I count the reasons and the reasons count me
[Verse 2]
A stranger held the door and called me friend
A letter came from someone I thought was gone in the end
The rain quit right on time, right on cue
And somebody I love said I love you too
It's never all the trouble that I feared it might be
There's grace in the corners if you've got eyes to see
[Pre-Chorus]
'Cause it's not the biggest thing
That fills you to the brim
It's a hundred tiny mercies
Riding in on the wind
[Chorus]
So I count the reasons, one, two, three
Every good thing standing right in front of me
More than I can hold, more than I can see
I count the reasons and the reasons count me
[Bridge]
When the night gets heavy and the doubt runs deep
I make a little list before I fall asleep
The people, the music, the roof, the bread
And the whole thing settles like a hand on my head
[Chorus]
So I count the reasons, one, two, three
Every good thing standing right in front of me
More than I can hold, more than I can see
I count the reasons and the reasons count me
[Outro]
Thank you, thank you, that's the whole of the song
Count the reasons and you carry them along
One for the morning, one for the friend
Count the reasons, love, all the way to the end
[Verse 1]
Between the fire escape and the broken swing
A little green thing decided to sing
No good soil, no gardener's hand
Just a seed and the will to stand
Momma worked doubles, the rent came due
But she planted a hope in the middle of the blue
[Pre-Chorus]
And nobody thought that a flower could rise
From a crack in the gray under smoke-colored skies
But you never told the roots that they couldn't grow
So they reached for a sun that they weren't supposed to know
[Chorus]
Bloom, little bloom in the concrete garden
Where the light comes hard and the ground don't pardon
You are living proof of a beautiful thing
That out of the stone, a whole life can spring
[Verse 2]
Chalk-drawn hopscotch, a jump-rope beat
A choir of children on a burning street
He learned his letters by the streetlamp glow
Dreamed of the places that he'd someday go
They said where you're from is all you'll ever be
But the boy grew tall like an unlikely tree
[Pre-Chorus]
And nobody thought that a garden could stay
In a place the whole world had thrown away
But you never told the roots that they couldn't hold
So they broke through the dark and they turned it to gold
[Chorus]
Bloom, little bloom in the concrete garden
Where the light comes hard and the ground don't pardon
You are living proof of a beautiful thing
That out of the stone, a whole life can spring
[Bridge]
Give a child a window, give a child a name
Give a child a reason and they'll rise to the flame
It was never the soil, it was always the seed
And the love that a mother poured out in her need
[Chorus]
Bloom, little bloom in the concrete garden
Where the light comes hard and the ground don't pardon
You are living proof of a beautiful thing
That out of the stone, a whole life can spring
[Outro]
Grow, grow, grow past the gray
Nobody's stone gonna stand in your way
Concrete garden, look how you shine
Out of the hard ground, life every time
[Verse 1]
Left my worries at the door with my coat
Left the heavy in the pocket of a paid-off note
The bassline hit me like a jolt of the sun
And my feet took off before the night was begun
I don't wanna think, I just wanna move
Let the whole room fall into the groove
[Pre-Chorus]
Turn it up, turn it up till the ceiling's gone
Turn it up till the trouble can't hang on
One and a two and a shake it loose
Ain't no problem that a beat can't use
[Chorus]
We go superlight, superlight
Floating over Friday into Saturday night
Feet off the floor, everything's alright
Baby, we go superlight, superlight
[Verse 2]
Clap on the two, sweat on the brow
Ain't a soul in here gonna sit down now
The horns come in like a happy surprise
And I swear I see stars in everybody's eyes
Whatever you're holding, you can set it free
Leave it on the dance floor, come fly with me
[Pre-Chorus]
Turn it up, turn it up till the walls give way
Turn it up till the worry got nothing to say
Three and a four and a spin around
Ain't no weight that this beat can't drown
[Chorus]
We go superlight, superlight
Floating over Friday into Saturday night
Feet off the floor, everything's alright
Baby, we go superlight, superlight
[Bridge]
Gravity, gravity, let me go
I got somewhere higher I'm trying to go
When the drum drops out and it all holds still
That's the breath before the biggest thrill — go!
[Chorus]
We go superlight, superlight
Floating over Friday into Saturday night
Feet off the floor, everything's alright
Baby, we go superlight, superlight
[Outro]
Superlight, oh, don't come down
Superlight, dancing round and round
Ain't no worry gonna touch us tonight
'Cause baby, we go superlight
[Verse 1]
Hey there, little dreamer with the scuffed-up shoes
Staring at a ceiling full of blues
I know you're scared that you won't turn out fine
But I'm writing from the future, and it's gonna be alright in time
You'll cry a few rivers, you'll fall a few falls
But you'll learn how to answer when the right thing calls
[Pre-Chorus]
So don't be so hard on that heart of yours
It's stronger than you know
Every closed and stubborn door
Is teaching you where to go
[Chorus]
This is a letter to a younger me
Be a little gentler, you're gonna be free
You are so much more than you can see
Signed, with love, from who you'll be
[Verse 2]
That thing you're ashamed of, it won't define your name
That fire in your belly, don't you smother the flame
The friends that you're missing, some are yet to come
And the ones that walk away, well, some were never the sum
You'll make some mistakes that you'll wear like a scar
But they're part of the map of how far you'll go, how far
[Pre-Chorus]
So don't be so hard on that heart of yours
It's braver than you think
Every night you thought you'd break
You were closer than the brink
[Chorus]
This is a letter to a younger me
Be a little gentler, you're gonna be free
You are so much more than you can see
Signed, with love, from who you'll be
[Bridge]
And if I could reach back through all of the years
I'd hold your small hand and I'd dry all your tears
I'd tell you that the boy that you hid all along
Is exactly the man who is singing this song
[Chorus]
This is a letter to a younger me
Be a little gentler, you're gonna be free
You are so much more than you can see
Signed, with love, from who you'll be
[Outro]
Little one, little one, you're gonna be okay
The light that you're chasing is already the way
I love you, I promise, across all the years
Signed, with love, and no more fears
[Verse 1]
They told me my voice was a whisper too small
Told me the mighty don't hear you at all
But my grandmother marched down a dangerous road
So the least I can do is carry the load
There's a line at the door and a name on a page
And a quiet kind of power in an ordinary age
[Pre-Chorus]
Don't you tell me it won't make a difference
Don't you tell me it's already done
Every mountain that ever got moved
Got moved by the many, one by one
[Chorus]
One vote, one voice, one hand in the air
One heart that decides that it's gonna care
Add 'em all up and you'll see what I wrote
It starts with you, it starts with one vote
[Verse 2]
The doubters keep saying the game's already lost
So they hope you stay home, and they're counting the cost
But the ones who came before me bled for this chance
So I'm not gonna waste it, I'm gonna advance
It's a paper, a pencil, a stand that you take
It's a promise to the children of the world we can make
[Pre-Chorus]
Don't you tell me it's out of your hands
Don't you tell me you're only one
Every river that ever ran wide
Was a thousand little drops that begun
[Chorus]
One vote, one voice, one hand in the air
One heart that decides that it's gonna care
Add 'em all up and you'll see what I wrote
It starts with you, it starts with one vote
[Bridge]
So stand up, stand up, don't sit it out
This is what the fight was always about
They want you tired, they want you resigned
But a wide-awake people can't be left behind
[Chorus]
One vote, one voice, one hand in the air
One heart that decides that it's gonna care
Add 'em all up and you'll see what I wrote
It starts with you, it starts with one vote
[Outro]
Raise it up, raise it up, let it be heard
Freedom is a verb, not just a word
Every one of us matters, that's the note
It starts with you, it starts with one vote
[Verse 1]
No hurry in the kettle, no rush in the day
Just your feet on my lap and the morning gray
Twenty-some years and we still find the words
Two old coffee cups and a song from the birds
We danced our fast dances back when we were young
Now the sweetest ones are the slow ones we've sung
[Pre-Chorus]
And I don't need the fireworks I chased at the start
I just need the steady, quiet drum of your heart
The kind of love that doesn't have to shout
The kind that's still here when the noise burns out
[Chorus]
It's a slow Sunday kind of love
Easy as the light coming down from above
Nowhere to be, just enough is enough
Baby, it's a slow Sunday kind of love
[Verse 2]
Your hair's got some silver, mine's mostly gone
But you're still the reason I get up at dawn
We've cried in this kitchen, we've laughed till we ached
We've kept every promise we ever made
The world spun so fast and we let it go by
'Cause the good life is quiet, just you and I
[Pre-Chorus]
And I don't need the ballad that they play on the screen
I just need your hand and the in-between
The kind of love that doesn't have to prove
The kind that just holds you and won't ever move
[Chorus]
It's a slow Sunday kind of love
Easy as the light coming down from above
Nowhere to be, just enough is enough
Baby, it's a slow Sunday kind of love
[Bridge]
And when the years run thin and the evening comes near
I'll thank every one that I spent with you here
Whatever gets old, whatever gets gray
Let me grow it with you, come what may
[Chorus]
It's a slow Sunday kind of love
Easy as the light coming down from above
Nowhere to be, just enough is enough
Baby, it's a slow Sunday kind of love
[Outro]
Slow, slow, no need to run
We already won, we already won
Rest your head, love, the day's got no shove
It's a slow Sunday kind of love
[Verse 1]
Somebody's cooking up a galaxy tonight
A pinch of the dark and a spoonful of light
Stirring up the stars in a big iron pot
Tasting the comets to see if they're hot
The moon's a little dumpling on the edge of the plate
And the whole Milky Way is a dish running late
[Pre-Chorus]
Ooh, who's in the kitchen making all of this?
Sprinkling the planets like a chef's little kiss
Nebula gravy and a supernova stew
The recipe's a mystery, but it tastes like you
[Chorus]
In the cosmic kitchen, everything's cooking
Wonders on the burner when nobody's looking
Season it with laughter, serve it with grace
We're all just a taste of a beautiful place
[Verse 2]
Black hole for a blender, spin it around
Whip up a whisper of an interstellar sound
A dash of the ancient, a splash of the new
And out comes a morning with a sky painted blue
I'm just a small crumb that fell off the bread
But I'm dancing with the atoms in my toes and my head
[Pre-Chorus]
Ooh, who set the table with a billion bright plates?
Who lit the candles at the pearly gates?
I don't need the answer, I just love the smell
Of a universe simmering and doing so well
[Chorus]
In the cosmic kitchen, everything's cooking
Wonders on the burner when nobody's looking
Season it with laughter, serve it with grace
We're all just a taste of a beautiful place
[Bridge]
So pull up a chair to the table of the sky
Take a big helping before it all flies by
We're made of the leftovers of some ancient star
So eat up, my darling, do you know what you are?
[Chorus]
In the cosmic kitchen, everything's cooking
Wonders on the burner when nobody's looking
Season it with laughter, serve it with grace
We're all just a taste of a beautiful place
[Outro]
Mmm, mmm, pass the sunshine, please
A little more stardust, if you don't mind, at ease
The cosmic kitchen never closes its door
Come back for seconds, there's always some more
[Verse 1]
The woman on the bus with the tired, worn eyes
Carries a story you would not surmise
The man who cut you off in the pouring-down rain
Might be racing to a bedside, holding back the pain
We move through the world like it's ours alone
But everybody's hauling something heavy of their own
[Pre-Chorus]
So before you judge the stranger by the frown on their face
Remember there's a burden you cannot trace
We're all just walking each other home
Nobody's really making it alone
[Chorus]
The weight we carry, you can't always see
A little more mercy is the least we can be
Be gentle with each other, hold the hand that you can
'Cause the weight we carry makes us who we are, every woman and man
[Verse 2]
The child acting out, the coworker gone cold
The neighbor who's quiet, growing tired and old
Behind every window there's a room you don't know
Where somebody's holding on and won't let it show
We could soften the sharp edge, we could offer the seat
We could carry a corner of the load on the street
[Pre-Chorus]
So before you write the story of the person you meet
Remember there's a chapter that they'd rather delete
We're all just walking each other home
Nobody's really making it alone
[Chorus]
The weight we carry, you can't always see
A little more mercy is the least we can be
Be gentle with each other, hold the hand that you can
'Cause the weight we carry makes us who we are, every woman and man
[Bridge]
And if you're the one with the weight tonight
The one who's been fighting an invisible fight
Lay it down here, love, you don't have to hide
There's room in these arms and I'm here at your side
[Chorus]
The weight we carry, you can't always see
A little more mercy is the least we can be
Be gentle with each other, hold the hand that you can
'Cause the weight we carry makes us who we are, every woman and man
[Outro]
Easy now, easy, set the burden down
Let me help you carry it across this town
You're not alone, love, no, you never were
The weight we carry, we can carry together
[Verse 1]
The lights went out on the whole avenue
Refrigerator quiet and the bills still due
But somebody pulled out an old guitar
And a candle turned the block into a shining star
When the world says stop, we find a way to start
You can cut the power but you can't cut the heart
[Pre-Chorus]
'Cause we've been broke before and we came back strong
We've been down so low that we wrote a song
So don't tell me the party's got to end
We'll turn the trouble into a groove, my friend
[Chorus]
Dance like the power's back on
Dance till the shadow and the doubt are gone
Clap your hands to the beat of the dawn
Baby, dance like the power's back on
[Verse 2]
The rent went up and the good jobs left
But we still got rhythm and we still got breath
Grandma's on the porch and she's tapping her cane
And the whole neighborhood is laughing in the rain
Whatever they take, they can't take the song
So we'll dance in the dark all the whole night long
[Pre-Chorus]
'Cause we've been knocked down and we got right up
We've been running on empty in a half-full cup
So don't tell me the joy has got to wait
We'll make a celebration out of whatever's on the plate
[Chorus]
Dance like the power's back on
Dance till the shadow and the doubt are gone
Clap your hands to the beat of the dawn
Baby, dance like the power's back on
[Bridge]
Let 'em cut the wire, let 'em kill the light
We got a fire in us burning too bright
Resilience is a rhythm, joy is a stand
So grab your people and clap your hands
[Chorus]
Dance like the power's back on
Dance till the shadow and the doubt are gone
Clap your hands to the beat of the dawn
Baby, dance like the power's back on
[Outro]
Whoa, dance, don't you stop
We rise from the bottom to the tip-top
Every setback's just a beat in the song
So dance, dance like the power's back on
[Verse 1]
Cracked and worn and folded in prayer
Kneading the dough with a whispering care
Those hands raised babies she didn't have to raise
Held the whole family through the hardest of days
She never asked for the credit or the crown
Just quietly held the whole world down
[Pre-Chorus]
And I never saw an army half as strong
As the women who carried us all along
No medals, no marches, no name in the sky
Just a love that refused to lay down and die
[Chorus]
Grandmother's hands, grandmother's hands
Building a home out of whatever she stands
Sowing the seed in the hardest of lands
Everything I am is in grandmother's hands
[Verse 2]
She stretched a dollar till it hollered for peace
Turned scraps into supper, made the worry decrease
Sang the old hymns when the night got long
Passed us the medicine of a mother's song
She buried the ones that she loved and stayed brave
And still had a garden she was ready to save
[Pre-Chorus]
And I never knew a strength so complete
As the ones who kept walking on their aching feet
The backbone of a family, the beat of the drum
The reason that so many of us overcome
[Chorus]
Grandmother's hands, grandmother's hands
Building a home out of whatever she stands
Sowing the seed in the hardest of lands
Everything I am is in grandmother's hands
[Bridge]
So here's to the women who held up the roof
Who loved without asking for a shred of the proof
When they lower me down and my story is told
Let it say that I was raised by a heart of gold
[Chorus]
Grandmother's hands, grandmother's hands
Building a home out of whatever she stands
Sowing the seed in the hardest of lands
Everything I am is in grandmother's hands
[Outro]
Thank you, thank you, for all that you gave
For the love that you carried all the way to the grave
I feel you still working, I feel where you stand
Everything I am is in grandmother's hands
[Verse 1]
A fisherman rises where the morning is new
Somewhere a mother is tying a shoe
A world away someone is laying to rest
And we're all underneath the same shining crest
Different tongues, different bread, different names
But the sun comes up for us all the same
[Pre-Chorus]
We draw our little borders in the sand
But the stars don't know where they're supposed to stand
The rain falls down on the just and the wrong
And we're all just verses in a single long song
[Chorus]
Same sky, same sky over you and over me
Same moon pulling on the same wide sea
However far, however high
We're all standing under the same sky
[Verse 2]
The child in the city, the child on the shore
Both want the same thing, a little bit more
A safe place to sleep and a hand to hold
A story worth telling when they're getting old
We fear what we don't know, we build up the wall
But the same red heart is beating in us all
[Pre-Chorus]
So maybe if I looked in your eyes for a while
I'd find a little of my own in your smile
The distance is a lie that the frightened have sold
'Cause the same warm blood keeps us all from the cold
[Chorus]
Same sky, same sky over you and over me
Same moon pulling on the same wide sea
However far, however high
We're all standing under the same sky
[Bridge]
So let's put down the weapons and the words that divide
Let's look for the family on the opposite side
We only get the one little blue-marble home
And nobody's meant to be walking alone
[Chorus]
Same sky, same sky over you and over me
Same moon pulling on the same wide sea
However far, however high
We're all standing under the same sky
[Outro]
One sky, one people, one long human line
Your hope and my hope, they're one and the same design
So reach across the water, look up on high
We're all, we're all under the same sky
Twelve original songs. Vocal: Marcus Vale, warm baritone-tenor soul crooner.
All lyrics 100% original, written for this EP. Style: jazz / funk / pop / big-band, cinematic.
[Verse 1]
The clock is doing math I never asked it to
Subtracting all the minutes I once spent with you
A quarter past the ache, half past the empty chair
I carry your addition in the smoke-blue air
[Pre-Chorus]
And every number leans against the wall
Counting down the reasons I recall
[Chorus]
It's midnight arithmetic, love
Adding up the shadows on the floor
Two and two won't equal what it used to
So I count the hours till the dawn comes knocking on my door
[Verse 2]
The saxophone is spelling out your quiet name
A slow and dizzy figure, never twice the same
I balance every heartbeat on a borrowed dime
And lose it all again to the arithmetic of time
[Pre-Chorus]
And every number leans against the wall
Counting down the reasons I recall
[Chorus]
It's midnight arithmetic, love
Adding up the shadows on the floor
Two and two won't equal what it used to
So I count the hours till the dawn comes knocking on my door
[Bridge]
If I could fold the figures back
Into the pocket where you used to lie
I'd carry the one, I'd carry the two
And carry my whole heart across the sky
[Chorus]
It's midnight arithmetic, love
Adding up the shadows on the floor
Two and two won't equal what it used to
So I count the hours till the dawn comes knocking on my door
[Outro]
Count me down, count me slow
Count me back to where the streetlights glow
Midnight arithmetic, love
Fading soft as the last note goes
[Verse 1]
The city cracks its knuckles as the neon starts to fade
The bakers and the dreamers pull the shutters up like blades
A taxi coughs a rhythm, and the sidewalk starts to sway
I feel a funky heartbeat in the arteries of the day
[Pre-Chorus]
Bass line rolling, horns on fire
Everybody rising higher
[Chorus]
It's a concrete sunrise, baby, feel it move
The pavement's got a shimmer and the town's got the groove
Steel and glass are gleaming, gold across the skyline
It's a concrete sunrise, baby, and the morning's mine
[Verse 2]
The subway breathes a chorus underneath the waking street
And every stranger's shoulder keeps a stubborn, hopeful beat
The window washer's whistling to a tune he never learned
The whole electric city's gonna give as good as it earns
[Pre-Chorus]
Bass line rolling, horns on fire
Everybody rising higher
[Chorus]
It's a concrete sunrise, baby, feel it move
The pavement's got a shimmer and the town's got the groove
Steel and glass are gleaming, gold across the skyline
It's a concrete sunrise, baby, and the morning's mine
[Bridge]
Slap that bass, let the brass come screaming
Ten million windows all start gleaming
No sun in the country ever burned this bright
As a city standing up and shaking off the night
[Chorus]
It's a concrete sunrise, baby, feel it move
The pavement's got a shimmer and the town's got the groove
Steel and glass are gleaming, gold across the skyline
It's a concrete sunrise, baby, and the morning's mine
[Outro]
Rise up, rise up, feel the pavement hum
Rise up, rise up, here the morning comes
Concrete sunrise, baby, and the day begun
[Verse 1]
I built a little fleet of all the promises we made
Folded them from paper that the years had slowly frayed
I set them on the water where the streetlight softly glows
And watched the current take them where the tired river goes
[Pre-Chorus]
So let them drift, let them roam
Every little dream that never came home
[Chorus]
Paper boats on a dark, dark stream
Carrying the weight of a folded-up dream
I let them go, I let them float
All my should-have-beens in a paper boat
[Verse 2]
There's one for every morning that I thought would never end
One shaped like a city, one shaped like a friend
The rain begins to soften every crease and every seam
And one by one they're melting back into the stream
[Pre-Chorus]
So let them drift, let them roam
Every little dream that never came home
[Chorus]
Paper boats on a dark, dark stream
Carrying the weight of a folded-up dream
I let them go, I let them float
All my should-have-beens in a paper boat
[Bridge]
It doesn't hurt the way it did before
When you learn to open up your hand
The hardest thing is loving what you lose
And letting the water understand
[Chorus]
Paper boats on a dark, dark stream
Carrying the weight of a folded-up dream
I let them go, I let them float
All my should-have-beens in a paper boat
[Outro]
Sail on, sail on, little paper crew
Somewhere down the river I'll make peace with you
Sail on, sail on, into the blue
[Verse 1]
She was seventy-two and she owned the floor
Silver on her sneakers, dancing out the door
The mirror ball was spinning like a private little moon
And Grandma taught the whole club how to swim inside the tune
[Pre-Chorus]
Don't you tell her she's too old to shine
She'll out-dance the future, she'll out-dance the time
[Chorus]
Electric grandmother, light up the night
Feet on the disco, heart in the light
Nobody moves like she moves, nobody glows
Electric grandmother, go, go, go
[Verse 2]
She's got a decade in each step and a story in her hips
A wink for every wallflower, a smile on borrowed lips
The DJ dropped the beat down just to watch her take the room
And every generation felt her gravity and bloom
[Pre-Chorus]
Don't you tell her she's too old to shine
She'll out-dance the future, she'll out-dance the time
[Chorus]
Electric grandmother, light up the night
Feet on the disco, heart in the light
Nobody moves like she moves, nobody glows
Electric grandmother, go, go, go
[Bridge]
Age is just a rumor when the strobe lights start
Nobody's counting years on a dance floor heart
Grab your someone, grab a stranger, spin around
Grandma's got the whole electric town spellbound
[Chorus]
Electric grandmother, light up the night
Feet on the disco, heart in the light
Nobody moves like she moves, nobody glows
Electric grandmother, go, go, go
[Outro]
Go on, granny, don't you ever slow
Keep the rhythm burning, keep the good times low
Electric grandmother, steal the show
[Verse 1]
I keep a smoky ledger by the bottom of a glass
Every debt of tenderness I never let you pass
The ink has turned to bruises and the columns never close
I owe you more than moonlight, and the interest only grows
[Pre-Chorus]
Line by line, the numbers bleed
More than a poor man's heart can lead
[Chorus]
It's a blue ledger, baby, I can't pay
The love I borrowed comes due every day
I'll be in your debt till the final horn
Blue ledger love, I was overdrawn the day I was born
[Verse 2]
The piano plays the balance in a minor, aching key
Every kiss you fronted me is written next to me
I'd sell the shirt off midnight just to square us up somehow
But some accounts you settle late, and some you settle now
[Pre-Chorus]
Line by line, the numbers bleed
More than a poor man's heart can lead
[Chorus]
It's a blue ledger, baby, I can't pay
The love I borrowed comes due every day
I'll be in your debt till the final horn
Blue ledger love, I was overdrawn the day I was born
[Bridge]
Some men run when the bill arrives
I'll sit right here in the candle's glow
Because a debt to you is the sweetest thing
The only kind I never want to owe less than I owe
[Chorus]
It's a blue ledger, baby, I can't pay
The love I borrowed comes due every day
I'll be in your debt till the final horn
Blue ledger love, I was overdrawn the day I was born
[Outro]
Tally it up, let the trumpet moan
I'll carry your ledger all the way home
Blue and unpaid, and I'm not alone
[Verse 1]
Up above the sleeping cities there's a whisper on its round
A little metal wanderer that never makes a sound
It sings to every rooftop with a slow and silver hum
A lullaby for everyone whose morning hasn't come
[Pre-Chorus]
So close your eyes, the sky's on watch
The stars are keeping time by the clock
[Chorus]
Satellite lullaby, drifting on high
Singing us to sleep from the edge of the sky
Turn down the world, let the quiet begin
Satellite lullaby, gather us in
[Verse 2]
It's seen the whole blue marble and it loves us anyway
The lonely and the lucky underneath the Milky Way
It carries all our voices in a soft electric thread
And weaves them into silence somewhere gentle overhead
[Pre-Chorus]
So close your eyes, the sky's on watch
The stars are keeping time by the clock
[Chorus]
Satellite lullaby, drifting on high
Singing us to sleep from the edge of the sky
Turn down the world, let the quiet begin
Satellite lullaby, gather us in
[Bridge]
No border up there, no walls, no war
Just a small light circling what we're for
It doesn't ask us who we are
It only sings us home from star to star
[Chorus]
Satellite lullaby, drifting on high
Singing us to sleep from the edge of the sky
Turn down the world, let the quiet begin
Satellite lullaby, gather us in
[Outro]
Sleep now, sleep now, the night is wide
Something soft and silver on the other side
Satellite lullaby, by your side
[Verse 1]
Come on down the avenue where the brass begins to blow
Every trumpet on the corner got a fire to let go
The trombones bend the evening and the tubas shake the ground
It's a full parade of glory in a jubilating sound
[Pre-Chorus]
Lift your voice up to the top
This is one train that will not stop
[Chorus]
On the boulevard of horns, hallelujah
Every note is a hand reaching through ya
Sing it loud with the gospel choir
On the boulevard of horns, we're rising higher
[Verse 2]
The saxophones are testifying, preaching in the key of gold
And a hundred swaying voices lift a story that's been told
From the sidewalk to the steeple, every window starts to ring
It's the sound of joy insisting on the anthems that it sings
[Pre-Chorus]
Lift your voice up to the top
This is one train that will not stop
[Chorus]
On the boulevard of horns, hallelujah
Every note is a hand reaching through ya
Sing it loud with the gospel choir
On the boulevard of horns, we're rising higher
[Bridge]
Bring the drums and bring the tambourine
Bring the loudest joy you've ever seen
When the whole big band is standing tall
There's a healing kind of thunder for us all
[Chorus]
On the boulevard of horns, hallelujah
Every note is a hand reaching through ya
Sing it loud with the gospel choir
On the boulevard of horns, we're rising higher
[Outro]
Blow, horns, blow, let the whole street sing
Every heavy heart's gonna find a wing
On the boulevard of horns, let it ring
[Verse 1]
The kettle's the only witness to the way we talk it low
Your feet are in my lap and there's an old song on the radio
The kitchen light is honey and the night is holding still
Just two cups and a quiet that we're in no rush to fill
[Pre-Chorus]
No place we've gotta be
Just you, just me, just three
[Chorus]
Coffee at three a.m., and your hand in mine
Everybody's dreaming but we're doing fine
Say it soft, say it slow, say it again
It's just love and coffee at three a.m.
[Verse 2]
You laugh about a memory and I forget to breathe
The steam is drawing pictures of the life we half-believe
The clock is barely moving 'cause it knows to leave us be
And the whole exhausted city fits inside this reverie
[Pre-Chorus]
No place we've gotta be
Just you, just me, just three
[Chorus]
Coffee at three a.m., and your hand in mine
Everybody's dreaming but we're doing fine
Say it soft, say it slow, say it again
It's just love and coffee at three a.m.
[Bridge]
Some folks chase the daylight, some folks chase the crowd
I just want this table and your voice this low, this proud
Let the sun stay lost a little longer than it should
Some of the best of loving happens quiet, in the good
[Chorus]
Coffee at three a.m., and your hand in mine
Everybody's dreaming but we're doing fine
Say it soft, say it slow, say it again
It's just love and coffee at three a.m.
[Outro]
Pour another, let it cool
Stay here with me, break every rule
Coffee at three a.m., that's all I need, that's true
[Verse 1]
I've been mapping every country in the atlas of your face
The rivers of your laughing and the mountains of your grace
There's a valley where you're worried and a coastline where you sleep
And a territory in your eyes that runs impossibly deep
[Pre-Chorus]
I chart the light, I chart the shade
Every borderline you ever made
[Chorus]
I'm the cartographer of you
Drawing every wonder that you carry me through
Give me a lifetime, give me the years
To map the whole geography of your hopes and your fears
[Verse 2]
There's a road along your shoulder where the morning likes to run
A meridian of freckles that I number one by one
I plant a little flag of me on every hidden shore
And still there's a horizon I have never reached before
[Pre-Chorus]
I chart the light, I chart the shade
Every borderline you ever made
[Chorus]
I'm the cartographer of you
Drawing every wonder that you carry me through
Give me a lifetime, give me the years
To map the whole geography of your hopes and your fears
[Bridge]
Let the strings swell up like an ocean tide
Let the whole orchestra open wide
Because no explorer ever found
A land as vast as the one where your heart is bound
[Chorus]
I'm the cartographer of you
Drawing every wonder that you carry me through
Give me a lifetime, give me the years
To map the whole geography of your hopes and your fears
[Outro]
Uncharted, unending, my compass to you
I'll be drawing you forever and I'll never be through
Cartographer of you, of you
[Verse 1]
On the corner of the boulevard where the streetlight always flicks
There's a man in a borrowed coat with a bag of borrowed tricks
He preaches from a payphone that ain't taken a dime in years
And the whole hustling neighborhood shows up to lend their ears
[Pre-Chorus]
He says the future's in the crackle on the line
He's got a nickel and a whole design
[Chorus]
Payphone prophet, tell it to me straight
What's around the corner, what's behind the gate
Drop your dime, let the truth come through
Payphone prophet, I believe in you
[Verse 2]
He knew about the winners and he knew about the fall
He read it in the graffiti someone left there on the wall
He never took a penny and he never told a lie
Just a philosopher in sneakers underneath the funky sky
[Pre-Chorus]
He says the future's in the crackle on the line
He's got a nickel and a whole design
[Chorus]
Payphone prophet, tell it to me straight
What's around the corner, what's behind the gate
Drop your dime, let the truth come through
Payphone prophet, I believe in you
[Bridge]
They came and took the payphone in the spring
And nobody knew where to take their wondering
But somewhere on the boulevard he's talking to the air
And the wisest kind of nonsense is still hanging there
[Chorus]
Payphone prophet, tell it to me straight
What's around the corner, what's behind the gate
Drop your dime, let the truth come through
Payphone prophet, I believe in you
[Outro]
Ring, ring, is anybody home
Prophet on the corner, never all alone
Payphone prophet, holding down his throne
[Verse 1]
I walked into a building made of nothing but the light
A thousand panes of morning burning quietly and bright
No sermon and no marble, just a hush inside my chest
And a feeling like forgiveness leaning gently on my rest
[Pre-Chorus]
Lift me up, lift me high
Underneath this endless sky
[Chorus]
In the glass cathedral, let the choir rise
Every color of heaven pouring down from the skies
I've been broken, I've been low
But the glass cathedral lets the whole light show
[Verse 2]
I laid down all my heavy in the middle of the floor
And the sun came pouring through me like it never had before
There's a grandeur in the ordinary, glory in the plain
And the smallest kind of mercy washing over me like rain
[Pre-Chorus]
Lift me up, lift me high
Underneath this endless sky
[Chorus]
In the glass cathedral, let the choir rise
Every color of heaven pouring down from the skies
I've been broken, I've been low
But the glass cathedral lets the whole light show
[Bridge]
Raise your voices, raise them to the dome
Everybody wandering is gonna find a home
When the organ swells and the whole choir sings
There's a lightness in the heaviest of things
[Chorus]
In the glass cathedral, let the choir rise
Every color of heaven pouring down from the skies
I've been broken, I've been low
But the glass cathedral lets the whole light show
[Outro]
Shine, shine, through the colored glass
Every heavy hour's gonna finally pass
Glass cathedral, hold me at the last
[Verse 1]
The highway's barely crawling but I don't mind the wait
Your arm out of the window and there's music on the eight
The sun is coming buttery through a lazy, golden haze
We got nowhere we're supposed to be, and all these easy days
[Pre-Chorus]
Take it slow, take it low
There's no place better we could go
[Chorus]
It's a slow traffic love, baby, let it ride
Bumper to bumper with you by my side
No rush, no hurry, just a smooth-jazz sky
Slow traffic love, and the world drifting by
[Verse 2]
The radio is humming like it's on our very side
A saxophone as easy as this long and gentle ride
Your sunglasses are smiling and your hand is in my hair
And every red light feels like one more minute we can share
[Pre-Chorus]
Take it slow, take it low
There's no place better we could go
[Chorus]
It's a slow traffic love, baby, let it ride
Bumper to bumper with you by my side
No rush, no hurry, just a smooth-jazz sky
Slow traffic love, and the world drifting by
[Bridge]
Let the whole world honk and hurry on ahead
We'll take the scenic minute and the sunset up ahead
Some folks race the clock and some folks race the heart
I just want the slow lane with you from the start
[Chorus]
It's a slow traffic love, baby, let it ride
Bumper to bumper with you by my side
No rush, no hurry, just a smooth-jazz sky
Slow traffic love, and the world drifting by
[Outro]
Cruise on, cruise on, keep it nice and low
Nowhere to be, baby, nowhere to go
Slow traffic love, let the good times flow
Voice: Kai River — modern pop-R&B, light and airy, falsetto.
All lyrics 100% original, written in English.
[Verse 1]
Sun going down but you light up the room
Salt on your shoulders, that ocean perfume
I traced every freckle the summer put there
Barefoot and reckless, no time and no care
You turned to me slow like a page in July
Caught the whole sky in the swing of your eye
[Pre-Chorus]
And I don't wanna blink, no
Don't wanna waste a single second we're in
'Cause the light won't stay, oh
So let it live right here on your skin
[Chorus]
Golden hour skin, you're glowing
Warm on my hands and I'm holding
Everything soft, everything slow
Baby, don't tell me where the day's gotta go
Golden hour skin, you're shining
There's honey and gold in the timing
Kiss me before all the color runs thin
Right here in your golden hour skin
[Verse 2]
Radio humming a song we half know
Windows rolled down and the palm trees on show
You dance like the heat never bothered you once
Spinning in circles, my favorite response
I'd bottle this evening, I'd keep it for cold
Give it back to us both when we're gray and we're old
[Pre-Chorus]
And I don't wanna blink, no
Don't wanna waste a single second we're in
'Cause the light won't stay, oh
So let it live right here on your skin
[Chorus]
Golden hour skin, you're glowing
Warm on my hands and I'm holding
Everything soft, everything slow
Baby, don't tell me where the day's gotta go
Golden hour skin, you're shining
There's honey and gold in the timing
Kiss me before all the color runs thin
Right here in your golden hour skin
[Bridge]
Even when the streetlights take the throne
You're still the warmest thing I've ever known
Nightfall can come, let it come, let it in
'Cause I'll still see the gold up under your skin
[Chorus]
Golden hour skin, you're glowing
Warm on my hands and I'm holding
Everything soft, everything slow
Baby, don't tell me where the day's gotta go
Golden hour skin, you're shining
There's honey and gold in the timing
Kiss me before all the color runs thin
Right here in your golden hour skin
[Outro]
Ooh, in your golden hour skin
Ooh, let the summer soak in
Stay a little longer, love, stay a little more
Right here on the sand, right here on the floor
[Verse 1]
I've been kneeling on the edge of my own mistakes
Counting up the promises a young man breaks
I let the pride get louder than the still small voice
And I confused my running with a real free choice
[Pre-Chorus]
But there's a door still open when I thought it closed
There's a hand still reaching where the river froze
I don't deserve it, no, but here it comes again
Mercy like the morning on a broken man
[Chorus]
This is my second chance religion
Grace where my failure used to live in
Down on the ground I found forgiveness
Lifting me up like it don't remember
Every wrong that I did in December
I'll believe in the light I was given
This is my second chance religion
[Verse 2]
I heard the choir long before I understood
That being sorry meant more than sounding good
So strip me down to nothing but an honest prayer
And let me learn to stand back up and stay right there
[Pre-Chorus]
'Cause there's a door still open when I thought it closed
There's a hand still reaching where the river froze
I don't deserve it, no, but here it comes again
Mercy like the morning on a broken man
[Chorus]
This is my second chance religion
Grace where my failure used to live in
Down on the ground I found forgiveness
Lifting me up like it don't remember
Every wrong that I did in December
I'll believe in the light I was given
This is my second chance religion
[Bridge]
Wash it off, wash it off, let the old man drown
Raise the new one, raise him up, don't put him down
I was lost in the dark 'til the dark gave in
Hallelujah for the room I'm forgiven in
[Chorus]
This is my second chance religion
Grace where my failure used to live in
Down on the ground I found forgiveness
Lifting me up like it don't remember
Every wrong that I did in December
I'll believe in the light I was given
This is my second chance religion
[Outro]
Oh, second chance, second chance
Take my hand, take my hand
Never thought I'd sing again
But here I am, here I am
[Verse 1]
Same little kitchen, same coffee gone cold
Same tired jokes that we never grow old
I know all your storms and I know how they end
You're more than my lover, you're still my best friend
[Pre-Chorus]
And the years keep on turning the pages so fast
But I'd sign every one if it made this thing last
Nothing's grown ordinary, girl, nothing's worn out
I'd do it all over without a doubt
[Chorus]
Same ring, same vow, same me
Standing right here where I promised to be
Through the ordinary Tuesdays and the hard, holy now
I'd marry you again, same ring, same vow
Same you, same love, same fire
Everyday quiet but never gone tired
If life asked me twice, I'd know exactly how
I'd marry you again, same ring, same vow
[Verse 2]
Remember the church and my hands how they shook
The whole of my future in one single look
Well I still get nervous, still lose my own words
Still learning your language, still moved when I've heard
[Pre-Chorus]
And the years keep on turning the pages so fast
But I'd sign every one if it made this thing last
Nothing's grown ordinary, girl, nothing's worn out
I'd do it all over without a doubt
[Chorus]
Same ring, same vow, same me
Standing right here where I promised to be
Through the ordinary Tuesdays and the hard, holy now
I'd marry you again, same ring, same vow
Same you, same love, same fire
Everyday quiet but never gone tired
If life asked me twice, I'd know exactly how
I'd marry you again, same ring, same vow
[Bridge]
When we're gray and the porch light is low
And the kids that we raised got their own to go
I'll still turn to you in the dark and I'll say
I'd choose you again in the very same way
[Chorus]
Same ring, same vow, same me
Standing right here where I promised to be
Through the ordinary Tuesdays and the hard, holy now
I'd marry you again, same ring, same vow
[Outro]
Same ring, same vow
Same then, same now
No, I wouldn't change a thing
Just give me back that ring
[Verse 1]
Blue light bleeding on a rain-slick street
Two a.m. and I can't feel my feet
I said some things that I can't take home
Now I'm out here texting your phone alone
[Pre-Chorus]
The bass is shaking but my hands are worse
Every drink just makes the guilt rehearse
I chased the noise 'cause the quiet hurt
But the quiet's where I lost you first
[Chorus]
This is my neon apology
Written in the lights of a lonely city
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, can you hear it through the crowd
Screaming it soft, I'm screaming it loud
This is my neon apology
Flickering out on an empty street
I know that I broke it, I know it was me
Reading you my neon apology
[Verse 2]
Strangers dancing but I'm standing still
Numb from the pride and the cheap thrill
I traded your warmth for a colder glow
Now the club's a mirror I don't wanna know
[Pre-Chorus]
The bass is shaking but my hands are worse
Every drink just makes the guilt rehearse
I chased the noise 'cause the quiet hurt
But the quiet's where I lost you first
[Chorus]
This is my neon apology
Written in the lights of a lonely city
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, can you hear it through the crowd
Screaming it soft, I'm screaming it loud
This is my neon apology
Flickering out on an empty street
I know that I broke it, I know it was me
Reading you my neon apology
[Bridge]
Turn off the lights, let me feel it raw
No more colors to hide the flaw
If you don't answer, I'll understand
But I'll be standing here with an open hand
[Chorus]
This is my neon apology
Written in the lights of a lonely city
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, can you hear it through the crowd
Screaming it soft, I'm screaming it loud
[Outro]
Neon, neon, fading slow
Sorry's all I've got to show
Come back, come back, or let me know
Under the neon, I'll let you go
[Verse 1]
I used to fill every second with sound
Scared of the space where my thoughts hang around
Phone always buzzing, my mind never off
Running from stillness like stillness was lost
[Pre-Chorus]
But I sat with the silence and it didn't bite
Turns out the dark had a little bit of light
I put down the noise, I put down the crowd
And I found something honest, I found something proud
[Chorus]
It's a quiet kind of loud
When you finally breathe out
When the racing in your chest slows down
And you don't need to shout
It's a quiet kind of loud
No applause and no crowd
Just a heart that's learning how to be
The calm and the free
A quiet kind of loud
[Verse 2]
I don't gotta win every day that I wake
I don't gotta carry more than I can take
Some peace isn't loud, some peace is a whisper
The kind that stays with you and lingers and lingers
[Pre-Chorus]
So I sat with the silence and it didn't bite
Turns out the dark had a little bit of light
I put down the noise, I put down the crowd
And I found something honest, I found something proud
[Chorus]
It's a quiet kind of loud
When you finally breathe out
When the racing in your chest slows down
And you don't need to shout
It's a quiet kind of loud
No applause and no crowd
Just a heart that's learning how to be
The calm and the free
A quiet kind of loud
[Bridge]
If you're drowning in your own head tonight
Let the silence be a friend, not a fight
You don't have to be okay out loud
You can heal in the hush, away from the crowd
[Chorus]
It's a quiet kind of loud
When you finally breathe out
When the racing in your chest slows down
And you don't need to shout
It's a quiet kind of loud
No applause and no crowd
Just a heart that's learning how to be
The calm and the free
A quiet kind of loud
[Outro]
Shh, just breathe with me now
Quiet kind of loud
It's okay, it's okay
Let the noise fall away
[Verse 1]
Different city, different clock on my wall
Three thousand miles and I feel it all
I close my eyes and I'm back where you are
Wishing on the same little stubborn star
[Pre-Chorus]
'Cause the phone's not enough and the nights are so wide
But I feel you right here when I'm holding my side
Count the same moon that is watching us both
Making the distance a whispering ghost
[Chorus]
We're under the same sky
Even when you're far, you're not far, don't cry
Same stars up above, same love in my eye
We're under the same sky, sky, sky
So look up tonight, I'm looking up too
The whole galaxy's carrying me back to you
No ocean's too deep and no road's too high
'Cause we're under the same, we're under the same sky
[Verse 2]
I trace every city between me and you
Every timezone I'm running right through
Your morning's my midnight, we still overlap
In a dream where there's no such thing as a gap
[Pre-Chorus]
'Cause the phone's not enough and the nights are so wide
But I feel you right here when I'm holding my side
Count the same moon that is watching us both
Making the distance a whispering ghost
[Chorus]
We're under the same sky
Even when you're far, you're not far, don't cry
Same stars up above, same love in my eye
We're under the same sky, sky, sky
So look up tonight, I'm looking up too
The whole galaxy's carrying me back to you
No ocean's too deep and no road's too high
'Cause we're under the same, we're under the same sky
[Bridge]
Soon, soon, I'll be off that plane
Running through the rain to your window pane
Every mile that I flew was a mile to you
Now the sky that we shared, it's coming true
[Chorus]
We're under the same sky
Even when you're far, you're not far, don't cry
Same stars up above, same love in my eye
We're under the same sky, sky, sky
[Outro]
Same sky, same stars, same night
Hold on, love, it's gonna be alright
Same sky, same moon, same me
Look up, look up, I'll be there, you'll see
[Verse 1]
I was a kid with a mic and a dream too big
Cameras for cradles, the whole world a stage rig
They told me to smile while the storm rolled in
And I learned how to lose while I looked like a win
[Pre-Chorus]
I stumbled in public, I fell in the light
Made all my mistakes with the whole world in sight
But somewhere between the applause and the fall
I found out I'm more than the sum of it all
[Chorus]
These are the hands I grew into
Callused and steady, been through what I've been through
Not the boy that they wrote about, not the headline they knew
I'm the man on the other side, the hands I grew into
I held on when it shook, I let go what I couldn't do
Every scar's a story that I finally see true
Give me back my own name, give me back my own view
I'm standing in the hands I grew into
[Verse 2]
I don't miss the noise but I honor the boy
Who kept his soft heart while they treated it a toy
He carried me here, so I carry him now
Wiser and quieter, I've figured it out
[Pre-Chorus]
I stumbled in public, I fell in the light
Made all my mistakes with the whole world in sight
But somewhere between the applause and the fall
I found out I'm more than the sum of it all
[Chorus]
These are the hands I grew into
Callused and steady, been through what I've been through
Not the boy that they wrote about, not the headline they knew
I'm the man on the other side, the hands I grew into
I held on when it shook, I let go what I couldn't do
Every scar's a story that I finally see true
Give me back my own name, give me back my own view
I'm standing in the hands I grew into
[Bridge]
To the young ones out there under too much light
It gets slow, it gets soft, it turns out alright
You'll grow past the version they sold on TV
Into hands of your own, into who you're meant to be
[Chorus]
These are the hands I grew into
Callused and steady, been through what I've been through
Not the boy that they wrote about, not the headline they knew
I'm the man on the other side, the hands I grew into
[Outro]
The hands I grew into
The heart that made it through
Older and truer now
Look how I've grown somehow
[Verse 1]
Church bells ringing through the open door
Sunlight spilling on the wooden floor
I came in heavy, I came in worn
Carrying the weight of a whole hard morn
[Pre-Chorus]
But the choir started singing and it moved something deep
Gave me back the joy I forgot I could keep
Hands lifted high, no shame, no doubt
The good in the room came pouring out
[Chorus]
I'm Sunday morning saved
Washed in the light, no longer afraid
Grace like a river, and I'm in the wave
Oh, I'm Sunday morning saved
Thank you, thank you for the day
For the peace that found me on my way
Every heavy thing that I laid on the pew
I'm Sunday morning saved, made new
[Verse 2]
Simple little kindness in a stranger's eye
Somebody's grandma singing to the sky
Coffee after service and a warm hello
This is where the healing likes to grow
[Pre-Chorus]
And the choir kept singing and it moved something deep
Gave me back the joy I forgot I could keep
Hands lifted high, no shame, no doubt
The good in the room came pouring out
[Chorus]
I'm Sunday morning saved
Washed in the light, no longer afraid
Grace like a river, and I'm in the wave
Oh, I'm Sunday morning saved
Thank you, thank you for the day
For the peace that found me on my way
Every heavy thing that I laid on the pew
I'm Sunday morning saved, made new
[Bridge]
I don't need it perfect, I just need it real
A little bit of mercy for the way that I feel
So sing it one more time 'til the walls come alive
Gratitude's the reason that I'm still gonna thrive
[Chorus]
I'm Sunday morning saved
Washed in the light, no longer afraid
Grace like a river, and I'm in the wave
Oh, I'm Sunday morning saved
[Outro]
Sunday morning, Sunday morning
Light comes in without a warning
Thank you, thank you, I'm alright
Sunday morning, everything's light
[Verse 1]
Little glowing screen at a quarter past three
Everybody's laughing but it's not reaching me
I hit the heart, I type and delete
Present in the pixels but empty in my seat
[Pre-Chorus]
A hundred conversations and I'm still on mute
Surrounded by faces on a lonely commute
We're closer than ever and further apart
I'm a name that keeps typing with a hollow heart
[Chorus]
I'm a ghost in the group chat
Here but not really, you know how it is
Blue dots and echoes, a life lived like this
I'm a ghost in the group chat
Seen but unseen, I'm scrolling through the light
Missing you all in the middle of the night
Somebody notice I went kind of quiet
I'm a ghost in the group chat, a ghost in the riot
[Verse 2]
Everybody's highlights and nobody's low
The parts that are aching are the parts we don't show
I'd trade all these threads for one real face
One hand on my shoulder, one actual place
[Pre-Chorus]
A hundred conversations and I'm still on mute
Surrounded by faces on a lonely commute
We're closer than ever and further apart
I'm a name that keeps typing with a hollow heart
[Chorus]
I'm a ghost in the group chat
Here but not really, you know how it is
Blue dots and echoes, a life lived like this
I'm a ghost in the group chat
Seen but unseen, I'm scrolling through the light
Missing you all in the middle of the night
Somebody notice I went kind of quiet
I'm a ghost in the group chat, a ghost in the riot
[Bridge]
Call me, don't text me, let me hear you breathe
Meet me somewhere real that I don't have to leave
Put the phones face down and just sit for a while
'Cause I miss the way you used to actually smile
[Chorus]
I'm a ghost in the group chat
Here but not really, you know how it is
Blue dots and echoes, a life lived like this
I'm a ghost in the group chat
[Outro]
Typing, typing, then I'm gone
Read at midnight, moving on
Somebody find the real me
Under all the glow, set me free
[Verse 1]
Dishes in the sink and the record's still spinning
It's late but I'm not tired, this is only the beginning
You're barefoot on the tile in my oversized shirt
No makeup, no worries, no ounce of it hurts
[Pre-Chorus]
So I take your hand and I pull you close
No music too fancy, just the one that we chose
The world's out there, but it's out there tonight
'Cause right here's the only place that feels right
[Chorus]
Slow dance in the kitchen, just us and the light
Swaying real gentle in the middle of the night
No one else watching, no reason, no rush
Just the sound of your heartbeat and the hush, hush, hush
Slow dance in the kitchen, hold me like this
Forehead to forehead and a soft little kiss
Nowhere I'd rather be, nothing I'd miss
Than a slow dance in the kitchen like this
[Verse 2]
You laugh at my spinning, I laugh at your feet
Stepping on my toes to a lazy heartbeat
Steam on the window and the kettle gone quiet
This ordinary magic, and baby, I'm quiet
[Pre-Chorus]
So I take your hand and I pull you close
No music too fancy, just the one that we chose
The world's out there, but it's out there tonight
'Cause right here's the only place that feels right
[Chorus]
Slow dance in the kitchen, just us and the light
Swaying real gentle in the middle of the night
No one else watching, no reason, no rush
Just the sound of your heartbeat and the hush, hush, hush
Slow dance in the kitchen, hold me like this
Forehead to forehead and a soft little kiss
Nowhere I'd rather be, nothing I'd miss
Than a slow dance in the kitchen like this
[Bridge]
Let the coffee go cold, let the morning come slow
This is the kind of love that nobody has to know
Just linoleum floors and the low kitchen glow
And you in my arms, and I never let go
[Chorus]
Slow dance in the kitchen, just us and the light
Swaying real gentle in the middle of the night
No one else watching, no reason, no rush
Just the sound of your heartbeat and the hush, hush, hush
[Outro]
Hush, hush, sway with me
This is all I need
Slow dance, slow dance, stay
Don't let the night slip away
[Verse 1]
There's a voice in my head that's been talking me down
Telling me quit, telling me drown
It knows all my cracks and it plays them on loop
But tonight I'm done letting it call my truth
[Pre-Chorus]
So I'm turning it up, I'm turning it high
Every reason I had for the fear and the lie
I stack them like bricks, then I climb, then I shout
Watch me get loud, watch me get out
[Chorus]
I'm louder than my doubt tonight
Louder than the whisper trying to steal my light
Feel the whole floor shaking, we're coming alive
I'm gonna out-scream the fear, I'm gonna survive
Louder than my doubt, hands in the air
I've been down on the ground but I'm no longer there
So put your voices up, let 'em ring, let 'em out
'Cause tonight we are louder, louder than doubt
[Verse 2]
Every no that they gave me is fuel for the fight
Every fall that I took taught me how to hold tight
I'm not the same broken I was in the dark
This is the sound of me finding my spark
[Pre-Chorus]
So I'm turning it up, I'm turning it high
Every reason I had for the fear and the lie
I stack them like bricks, then I climb, then I shout
Watch me get loud, watch me get out
[Chorus]
I'm louder than my doubt tonight
Louder than the whisper trying to steal my light
Feel the whole floor shaking, we're coming alive
I'm gonna out-scream the fear, I'm gonna survive
Louder than my doubt, hands in the air
I've been down on the ground but I'm no longer there
So put your voices up, let 'em ring, let 'em out
'Cause tonight we are louder, louder than doubt
[Bridge]
Whatever's got you small, whatever's got you low
Turn it into thunder, let the whole world know
You're bigger than the fear, you're bigger than the shout
Come on and be louder, louder than your doubt
[Chorus]
I'm louder than my doubt tonight
Louder than the whisper trying to steal my light
Feel the whole floor shaking, we're coming alive
I'm gonna out-scream the fear, I'm gonna survive
Louder than my doubt, hands in the air
I've been down on the ground but I'm no longer there
[Outro]
Louder, louder, hear me now
I found my way, I made it out
Louder, louder, no more doubt
Watch me rise, watch me shout
[Verse 1]
When the show is over and the crowd goes home
And it's just me and the empty microphone
No confetti falling, no roar, no glow
Who am I when there's no one there to know
[Pre-Chorus]
You stayed 'til the aisles were quiet and bare
You saw me tired and you still stood there
Not the version they cheer, not the one on the screen
But the one in between, the one no one's seen
[Chorus]
And when the lights come up, you're still holding on
When the magic runs out and the music's gone
You don't love the spotlight, you love who I am
When the lights come up and I'm just a man
No costume, no chorus, no reason to hide
You saw me plain and you stayed by my side
So when it all fades and the room empties out
You're the one thing left I never doubt
When the lights come up
[Verse 2]
It's easy to love me when I'm shining and loud
Harder to find me when I'm lost in the crowd
But you know my silence, you know my tired eyes
You love the true thing, not the beautiful lies
[Pre-Chorus]
You stayed 'til the aisles were quiet and bare
You saw me tired and you still stood there
Not the version they cheer, not the one on the screen
But the one in between, the one no one's seen
[Chorus]
And when the lights come up, you're still holding on
When the magic runs out and the music's gone
You don't love the spotlight, you love who I am
When the lights come up and I'm just a man
No costume, no chorus, no reason to hide
You saw me plain and you stayed by my side
So when it all fades and the room empties out
You're the one thing left I never doubt
When the lights come up
[Bridge]
Thank you for seeing the man past the noise
For loving the quiet, for hearing the voice
Underneath everything, underneath all of it
You found the real me and you never quit
[Chorus]
And when the lights come up, you're still holding on
When the magic runs out and the music's gone
You don't love the spotlight, you love who I am
When the lights come up and I'm just a man
[Outro]
When the lights come up
You're still there
When the lights come up
And I'm laid bare
Just me, just you, just this
The realest thing there is
When the lights come up