[Intro: Slow acoustic guitar figure, mournful and deliberate] - Chord Progression: Dm - Bb - F - C [Verse 1: Weathered male vocal, heavy with restrained grief] Dm Bb There's a photograph I keep but never really look at close F C A boy who laughs like nothing in the world could ever go Dm Bb I carry him around with me in places I don't show F C Old wounds don't ask permission before they start to grow [Pre-Chorus: Vocal tightens, guitar dynamics rise] Gm C I've walked a thousand miles to outrun a single name Gm C But grief don't care for distance, grief just knows your face [Chorus: Full band, restrained but weighty] Dm Bb F C Old wounds, old wounds, they don't heal the way they say Dm Bb F C They just learn to live inside you, quieter every day Gm C Dm And if I sing about him now, it's not to make it less Gm C It's just the only way I've found to hold him in my chest [Interlude: Long, deeply emotional blues-influenced acoustic solo, building slowly] - Chord Progression: Gm - C - Dm - Bb (Repeating) [Verse 2: Vocal steadier, more accepting] Dm Bb I don't ask why anymore, I stopped somewhere last spring F C Some questions just wear grooves in you, they don't answer anything Dm Bb I keep his laughter in a drawer beside the things I save F C Some love just changes shape but doesn't go into the grave [Pre-Chorus: Repeat, soulful female guest vocal adds a mourning harmony] Gm C I've walked a thousand miles to outrun a single name Gm C But grief don't care for distance, grief just knows your face [Chorus: Repeat, harmony deepens, more resigned and warm] Dm Bb F C Old wounds, old wounds, they don't heal the way they say Dm Bb F C They just learn to live inside you, quieter every day Gm C Dm And if I sing about him now, it's not to make it less Gm C It's just the only way I've found to hold him in my chest [Bridge: Instrumentation strips to guitar and voice, close and unguarded] Bb C Maybe healing isn't closing up a door Bb C Maybe it's just learning how to carry what you're for [Outro: Guitar fades slow, single sustained note lingers before silence] - Chord Progression: Dm (let ring) [End]
