Title: Hello or Goodbye Tempo: 72 BPM | Key: E♭ minor | Structure: Verse – Pre-Chorus – Chorus – Verse – Pre-Chorus – Chorus – Bridge – Final Chorus – Outro Vocal note: Start each line with soft breath; hold final vowels with steady, unwavering sustain; keep phrasing tight and intimate—no big flourishes Intro (instrument only) Felt piano opens slow, pedal held down; faint string pad swells; soft pedal noise breathes with the beat Verse 1 You leave your cup on the edge of the Steinway Still warm where your fingers stayed I trace the ring like I’m tracing your shadow Afraid if I move, the whole picture fades You say you’re leaving, then linger a minute Fix my collar like you still own the fit I tell myself I don’t need you to stay But I’m counting every breath you admit Pre-Chorus I push you away, then I pull you in close I want the door shut, but I lock it both ways Every “maybe” you say is a ghost That won’t let me rest, won’t let me walk away Chorus Full tone opens, sine sub hums beneath; strings wrap around the vocal line I’m tangled in the space between your “hello” and your “goodbye” Caught in the quiet I don’t know how to let you go, or how to ask you to stay Just holding on to every word you don’t say.. Verse 2 Your voice still hums in the empty hallway I play the notes you messed up last night Like I’m memorizing how you felt when you laughed When you said this was wrong, but you held me so tight I know the shape of your hesitation Know you’re scared to break what we started to build I’m scared too—scared to name what we are Scared if I speak, all this stillness is killed Pre-Chorus I push you away, then I pull you in close I want the light out, but I leave it ablaze Every “later” you say is a ghost That won’t let me sleep, won’t let me walk away Chorus I’m tangled in the space between your “hello” and your “goodbye” Caught in the quiet I don’t know how to let you go, or how to ask you to stay Just holding on to every word you don’t say.. Bridge If I let go, will you vanish completely? If I hold on, will you cut me too deep? Am I just the silence you run to when you’re weak? Or the only place you ever felt you could keep? You look at me like you know the answer But you bite it back, keep it locked in your chest And I’m left here balancing on the wire Between what I want and what I can’t confess Final Chorus Tangled in the space between your “hello” and your “goodbye” Caught in the quiet I don’t know how to let you go, or how to ask you to stay Just holding on to every word you don’t say..
