[Intro] [Whispered Female Voice] You kept my paper moon In the glovebox of your car. It’s folded at the corners now, But I still know where you are. [Verse 1] You wore my velvet jacket home, With rain still in the seams. We split a pear beside the sink And named the bruises dreams. Your laugh went low and crooked When the old clock lost its time; I kept that little sound of yours Like a secret I could rhyme. [Pre-Chorus] Come close, don’t promise me forever, Just stay until the kettle sings. Let the floorboards bend beneath us, Let the room forget its strings. [Chorus] Hold me where the crooked carousel turns, Where the painted horses lean and sway. Kiss me with the sweetness that still burns, Say my name and let the whole world fade. If love is just a tent of borrowed stars, Then darling, let it tremble while we dance; I’ll keep your paper moon against my heart And give this strange, sweet night another chance. [Post-Chorus] [Choir Chant] Come back, come back—stay near. Come back, come back—my dear. [Low Female Vocal] Mmm, I know you by your hands. Mmm, I know where silence lands. [Verse 2] There’s cinnamon along your sleeve, A silver button in my drawer. I found your note behind the flour: “Don’t let the rain in anymore.” But rain gets in through every roof And finds the cup we meant to mend. I set two places out at supper Though I know how stories end. [Pre-Chorus] Come close, don’t promise me forever, Just stay until the kettle sings. Let the floorboards bend beneath us, Let the room forget its strings. [Chorus] Hold me where the crooked carousel turns, Where the painted horses lean and sway. Kiss me with the sweetness that still burns, Say my name and let the whole world fade. If love is just a tent of borrowed stars, Then darling, let it tremble while we dance; I’ll keep your paper moon against my heart And give this strange, sweet night another chance. [Instrumental Break] [Crooked Piano, Swinging Percussion, Expressive Electric Guitar] [Bridge] [Low, Resonant Female Vocal] I don’t need the ribbon back, Or the key you left with me. Just tell me when you pass our door You hear that old clock breathe. [Choir] Hear it breathe… hear it breathe… [Lead Vocal] I still set the table for the ghost of what we’d be. [Final Chorus] Hold me where the crooked carousel turns, Where the painted horses lean and sway. Kiss me with the sweetness that still burns, Say my name and let the whole world fade. If love is just a tent of borrowed stars, Then darling, let it tremble while we dance; I’ll keep your paper moon against my heart And give this strange, sweet night another chance. [Outro] [Dreamy Female Humming] Come back, come back—stay near. The kettle’s gone quiet, my dear.
