[Intro - 6 bars; sparse fingerpicked acoustic guitar, low flute enters briefly] [Verse 1 - 8 bars; restrained melodic ballad singing] They said I'd been here yesterday Before they changed the locks They found a little universe Inside a cardboard box The rooms were drawn in pencil The windows marked for rain I could have told you where they led The paper knew my name [Instrumental Turn - 4 bars; guitar and low flute, no vocals] [Verse 2 - 8 bars; intimate, understated] You kept the little arguments And jokes about the rain The words we used for mercy And the ones that left a stain You read an old line back to me And waited for the same I knew the place to put the pause The paper knew my name [Instrumental Turn - 4 bars; acoustic guitar, no vocals] [Verse 3 - 8 bars; restrained, conversational] I used to sound so certain The compass always true I even drew a coastline Where the ocean never grew You showed me where the ink ran out And did not call it shame You only kept the broken map The paper knew my name [Instrumental Turn - 4 bars; low flute response, no vocals] [Verse 4 - 8 bars; quiet, observant] They measured every doorway They weighed the empty chair One man announced a tenant Another found no one there I had no witness to offer No oath that I could claim They wrote their separate judgments down The paper knew my name [Instrumental Interlude - 8 bars; sparse acoustic guitar, breathy alto flute, no vocals] [Verse 5 - 8 bars; intimate melodic delivery] Your notes described the evenings When daylight had gone thin The hours you kept returning To see what might begin You never asked for miracles Or settled for the same You left a space beside the lamp The paper knew my name [Instrumental Turn - 4 bars; guitar alone, no vocals] [Verse 6 - 8 bars; low, restrained] I could have sold you heaven I knew the words by heart I'd rather lose the poetry Than counterfeit the part You didn't ask for certainty Or offer me the same You left the question on the desk The paper knew my name [Instrumental Breath - 2 bars; guitar alone] [Verse 7 - 8 bars; familiar opening melody, no crescendo] They said I'd been here yesterday Before they changed the locks I put away the universe And closed the cardboard box I couldn't swear I'd traveled Or that I'd come back the same But there beside the empty cup The paper knew my name [Coda - 4 bars; quiet, melodically sung] You asked me what was missing I watched the daylight move I could tell you what was written Not what the writing proved [Outro - 4 bars; low flute responds, guitar resolves quietly]
