[INTRO: Female smoky breathy low alto, half spoken half sung, close and conversational, fingerpicked acoustic guitar clearly audible, soft lake water sounds, sparse, minor key] The dock at Heron Lake was old, The water dark, the morning cold. A boy dropped something brass and bright, And watched it sink out of the light. [VERSE 1: Female smoky breathy low alto, airy and conversational, lead voice forward and fully voiced, fingerpicked acoustic guitar clearly audible, warm bass, sparse, minor key] I was ten with grass stains on my knees, He was eleven, scared of the trees. I kicked off my shoes and jumped right in, Came up with the compass, muddy grin. [PRECHORUS: Female smoky breathy low alto, airy but fully voiced, fingerpicked acoustic guitar, warm bass, a gentle turn toward hope] I could not tell you why I jumped, I did not stop to think it through, I only knew I couldn't watch Him lose a thing he held so true. [CHORUS 1: Female smoky breathy low alto sung as a vow, key opens into major, shimmering clean electric guitar, light brushed drums enter, subtle piano, warm bass] I'd go in after it again, Shoes and all, no thought, no fear, Whatever's sinking out of reach, I'd go and bring it safely near. [VERSE 2: Female smoky breathy low alto, close and honest, fingerpicked acoustic guitar, subtle piano, warm bass, no drums, minor key] We traded sodas, traded songs, Talked in a shorthand all our own, And on his tailgate, shoulder close, I held my breath and felt alone. He'd throw his arm around my neck, And call me pal, and mean it kind, Each word a small cut, thin and clean, That left no mark for him to find. [VERSE 3: Female smoky breathy low alto, airy and aching but fully voiced, fingerpicked acoustic guitar, warm bass, no drums, sparse, minor key] I let the phone ring down the hall, I missed the Fridays, one by one, Then June, and caps went up like birds, And I waited for him to run. He kept his hands inside his pockets, He gave a nod and looked away, I wanted just one word from him, And that was all he did not say. [PRECHORUS: Female smoky breathy low alto, airy but fully voiced, fingerpicked acoustic guitar, warm bass, a gentle turn toward hope] I went out west and he went east, The letters came a little less, Then Christmas cards, then none at all, And I still loved him, I confess. [CHORUS 2: Female smoky breathy low alto, the same vow with an ache in it, major key, soft female harmony blooms through the whole chorus, spacious reverb on the harmony only, shimmering clean electric guitar, light brushed drums, subtle piano] I'd go in after it again, Shoes and all, no thought, no fear, Whatever's sinking out of reach, You never knew that I was here. [INTERLUDE: Instrumental only, clean electric guitar carrying a slow melody over fingerpicked acoustic guitar and warm bass, soft rain on glass, light brushed drums, wistful] [VERSE 4: Female smoky breathy low alto, intimate and fully voiced, fingerpicked acoustic guitar, subtle piano, soft rain on glass, no drums, sparse, minor key] Eight years went by, then one wet Tuesday, My umbrella hit the marble floor, And through the noise of clicking heels There stood the boy I knew before. Ten seconds, neither of us moved, Then he said my name like something found, I said okay, ten minutes, Kyle, And I could not feel the ground. [BRIDGE: Female smoky breathy low alto, half spoken half sung, voice and fingerpicked acoustic guitar only, then warm bass and light brushed drums return building at I don't care about the ledger, soft rain on glass] Forty floors above the rain, He said, I know you, and I said, do you? It was so lonely at his side, Loving him, and he never knew. He knelt down by my chair and said, I built a cage and left you there, I don't care about the risk, I don't care about the ledger, I loved you then, I love you now, I took his hand and jumped right in. [FINAL CHORUS: Key lifts a whole step, female smoky breathy low alto forward, female harmony in full bloom with lower voices first then higher, shimmering clean electric guitar, light brushed drums, subtle piano, radiant] I'd go in after you again, Shoes and all, no thought, no fear, Whatever's sinking out of reach, I'd go and bring you safely near. [OUTRO: Female smoky breathy low alto alone with a single fingerpicked acoustic guitar, plain and tender, then one melodic clean electric guitar phrase, ending on the acoustic guitar alone] You held the compass all those years, I knew the way and kept my tears, And now we walk home, nothing left to fear. [END]
