[Instrumental Intro] [Verse 1] I made rules to keep me steady Don't call, don't ask, don't stay Learned to say your name like weather Light and passing, far away You still came to me in dreams But I woke up and I was fine [Pre-Chorus] I was ready, I was steady Just a hello [Chorus] [Lead sings "hello", soft gospel choir answers "goodbye" underneath] Every hello, hello Brings it all back Every goodbye, goodbye I bury it again Every time, every time I know you feel it too Every hello, hello [Verse 2] Then you're there, I'm still pretending Arms around you, light and slow Every week I buried, rising Your hands go still, you let me go Then you step back, eyes to the floor But your eyes said what I know [Pre-Chorus] I was ready, I was steady Just a hello [Chorus] [Fuller, choir wraps around the lead] Every hello, hello Brings it all back Every goodbye, goodbye I build the wall again Every time, every time I know you feel it too Every hello, hello [Instrumental Interlude] [Strings swell with piano, vocal chops of "hello" and "goodbye" weave into each other, warm and slow, no lyrics] [Break] [Beat drops out for one bar, only a soft breath and a single piano note, then the groove returns] [Call and Response] [Call] Did you feel it? [Response] Every time [Call] Is it getting easier? [Response] Never [Call] Do you think of me? [Response] Every day [Call] Can we say it? [Response] Not yet [Bridge] [Stripped, piano and baritone only, intimate, falsetto on the last line] Reason builds a wall each time And your eyes walk right through Both of us pretending Both of us know it's true Next time, I tell myself, next time I'll say it Then next time comes And all I say is hello [Key change, slow warm build] [Final Chorus] [Full and warm, choir and lead together, hello and goodbye overlapping] Every hello, hello Brings it all back Every goodbye, goodbye I bury it again Every time, every time I know you feel it too And we'll do it all again Every hello [Outro] [The opening piano melody returns, softly, as if the story starts over, choir hums "goodbye" very quietly] Hello Hello
