TRACK 10 “BUILT A LIFE AROUND YOU” from the album I DON’T LEAVE Written by: 12 Gauge INTRO OPENING (WARM — STRINGS RISE SLOWLY) (Cellos swell upward for the first time on the album. Guitar waits.) (soft, reflective) Yeah… Look at us now. VERSE 1 We don’t look like we did back then Lines in our faces, weight in our eyes But we survived the quiet endings And all the almost goodbyes This house remembers every fight Every night we barely made But it also knows the sound of us Choosing to stay (ad-libs, low & warm) —mm… —yeah —we made it PRE-CHORUS This ain’t the dream we talked about It’s better, it’s real somehow A little bent, a little worn Still standing now (breath) Yeah… CHORUS (PRIMARY — EARNED, OPEN) I built a life around you Brick by brick, scar by scar Every promise I didn’t say Still shows in who we are I built a life around you Not the shine, not the crowd Just a place where your name Feels safe out loud (ad-libs, layered) —around you —yeah… —right here VERSE 2 I’ve learned your silence, learned your storms Learned when to hold, when to wait I know the look that means stay close And the one that says give me space We ain’t perfect, never were But we’re honest in the cracks Some love chases what it could’ve been Ours learned how to last (spoken ad-libs) —I learned you —I stayed —yeah… PRE-CHORUS 2 (VARIATION) Everybody wants the fire But they don’t want the years They don’t want the work it takes To still be here (rasp breath) We did. CHORUS (LIFTED) I built a life around you Through the worst, through the doubt Every hard day we didn’t quit Is holding us now I built a life around you No applause, no crown Just two hearts still standing On solid ground (ad-libs, cracked but peaceful) —solid —yeah… —still here 🎼 DEEP STRINGS + GUITAR SOLO RIFF (CENTERPIECE) (No vocals — let the album breathe.) Description (for performance & production): Cellos lead with a slow, rising four-note motif Violas harmonize underneath, thick and warm Violins enter last, restrained, emotional—not soaring Electric guitar answers the strings, not overpowering Guitar bends notes gently, almost crying, then pulls back Strings and guitar trade phrases like a conversation Ends unresolved—no full cadence (Optional whispered ad-lib during final bar) —yeah… we built this BRIDGE (REFLECTIVE — NEAR SPOKEN) (Music drops to cello + faint guitar.) We’re not who we were And that’s the point We earned this version Every joint, every joint (voice steady) I wouldn’t change the road we took It brought me here with you (half-bar silence) FINAL CHORUS (RESOLVE — WARMEST MOMENT ON ALBUM) I built a life around you And I’d do it again Every loss, every lesson Led us right here then I built a life around you Not because it was easy to do But because loving you Was worth building through (ad-libs stacked, emotional but calm) —worth it —yeah… —every brick —I’m here OUTRO (PEACEFUL DECAY) (Strings slowly thin. Guitar sustains.) (spoken, content) This… this was the right way. (final whispered ad-lib) —still standing (Strings fade. Guitar hum lingers. Track ends.)
