[Hook — sampled whisper pitched down, vinyl crackle, guitar note feeding back underneath] When I go Don't cry When I go Don't cry [Verse 1 — low, close to the mic, melodic rapping, Pittsburgh drawl, unhurried flow that rides the beat] Yeah Ten thousand hands and a million plans And I still can't find the one that holds me still Devil moved in, got his name on the lease Sitting in my chair like he owns my peace I'm the tenant in my own damn life He's the landlord and I'm paying twice The circle don't break just because you see it Been seeing it for years, still can't leave it Still round Still bound To the start of the line every time I repeat it [Pre-Chorus — half-laughing, self-deprecating, beat pulls back to just kick and crackle] What are you gonna do, not get back on? Good luck with that You'd be the first [Hook] When I go Don't cry When I go Don't cry [Verse 2 — melodic rapping, slower now, more space between lines, letting the beat breathe] So I fell in a circle Painted it blue and called it a miracle Then spent the whole day looking for the edge Standing at the rim, staring at the ledge You know what's funny about a circle? There's no edge That's the whole joke And I'm the only one not laughing Or maybe I am [can't tell if it's a laugh or something else — neither can he] I miss Pittsburgh The way the city sits in a bowl like somebody's holding it Three rivers meeting at the Point and going round And you're just standing there, feet on the ground Going nowhere Drawing circles on napkins, setlists, my own damn hand Like if I draw enough of them, one might open Like if I say enough of them, one might be spoken [whisper, barely there] One of them [Guitar Solo — 4 bars, heavy, odd-time, the metal riff from the sample played live and loud over the beat, no vocals, just raw] [Hook] When I go Don't cry When I go Don't cry (I said don't cry) (Prolly should) [Verse 3 — tired, half-laughing, the humor getting darker, beat drops to kick and sub only, melodic rapping even here] They want good news So I give 'em the performance Should've won something for that, honestly I keep goin', goin', goin' before I'm gone Like leaving early means you chose the dawn Like there's a version of this where I'm the one deciding The one still riding, the one still fighting [voice breaking, barely holding it together] Maybe I'll come back around [small, sad laugh] It's a circle, right? The circle always comes back around I just don't know which version of me is doing the coming back Or if I ever left the track So it goes [Outro — beat drops out, just the sample and sub bass, fading] When I go Don't
