[INTRO — QUIET GUITAR, DISTANT ROOM REVERB] [WHISPERED] Funny, isn't it? [SOFT VOCAL] The years keep moving... [PAUSE] But somehow... one little room stays exactly the same. [SOFT GUITAR PICKUP] Ah-ah... [VERSE 1 — RESTRAINED, RHYTHMIC] I changed the curtains, changed the locks, changed the number on my phone. [SHORT VOCAL ECHO] My phone... Changed the songs I couldn't stand, learned to sleep with the lights on. [DRUMS ENTER — TIGHT KICK] Funny how a photograph can gather dust without a sound, [QUICK AD-LIB] Ah! While one unfinished sentence keeps echoing around. [BACKGROUND VOCAL] Round and round... round and round... I tell myself, "It's ancient history." [PAUSE] So why do I still walk the long way home? [SOFT AD-LIB] Why...? [PRE-CHORUS — BUILDING] Maybe I'm just careful, maybe I'm just tired, [BACKGROUND] Maybe, maybe... Maybe I forgot how to stand beside somebody else. [DRUM BUILD] I laugh when they ask me, "Don't you want somebody?" [PAUSE] Yeah... [WHISPER] I guess I do. [CHORUS — EXPLOSIVE] [SHOUT] BUT I NEVER OPEN THE DOOR! [BACKING VOCAL] Open the door! I leave the chain on, leave the lights low, [FAST VOCAL] Leave it, leave it, leave it all behind! Leave tomorrow waiting outside! [HIGH AD-LIB] Ah-ah-ah! I tell myself I'm perfectly fine, while counting every reason not to try! [BACKGROUND VOCAL] Don't try! Don't try! If moving forward means letting go of what I knew— [DRUM STOP] Then maybe I've been walking... [WHISPER] Walking... [SHOUT] IN CIRCLES JUST TO KEEP SEEING YOU! [POST-CHORUS — BOUNCY VOCAL HOOK] Na-na-na— don't look too closely! [BACKGROUND] Too closely! Na-na-na— I'm doing fine! Na-na-na— the years keep passing... [HIGH AD-LIB] Ah-ah! So why does this heart still stop at the same line? [INSTRUMENTAL FILL] [VERSE 2 — FASTER, MORE RESTLESS] There's an empty chair I never moved. [SHORT PAUSE] I don't remember why. It's not like I'm expecting anyone. [QUIET] Anyone... It's just... [PAUSE] It fits there. [DRUM HIT] Friends say, "You're wasting your time." [MOCKING BACKING VOCAL] Wasting your time! I smile and change the subject. They don't know some doors stay closed [BUILDING VOCAL] Because you're afraid— afraid— afraid— [SHOUT] OF WHAT'S BEHIND THEM! [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK] I tried new streets. New faces. New beginnings. [QUICK RHYTHMIC AD-LIB] New, new, new! But every road somehow learned your name. [SOFT] Your name... [PRE-CHORUS 2 — EMOTIONAL BUILD] Maybe I'm ridiculous, maybe I'm afraid, [BACKGROUND] Maybe I'm afraid... Maybe some part of me still thinks I'll hear— [WHISPERED] "Hey..." [PAUSE] "I'm sorry." [LONG PAUSE] And maybe that's the problem. [LOW VOCAL] I never heard it. [CHORUS — HEAVIER, MORE DESPERATE] [SHOUT] SO I NEVER OPEN THE DOOR! [BACKING] Open the door! I leave the chain on, leave the lights low, [FAST] Leave tomorrow waiting outside! I tell myself I'm perfectly fine, [HIGH HARMONY] Perfectly fine! While counting every reason not to try! [BACKGROUND] Don't try! Don't try! If moving forward means forgetting what I knew— [PAUSE] Then maybe I've been walking... [BUILDING] Walking... walking... [SHOUT] IN CIRCLES JUST TO KEEP SEEING YOU! [POST-CHORUS — RAPID VOCAL] Na-na-na-na! Na-na-na-na! [BACKGROUND] Round and round! Na-na-na-na! Na-na-na-na! [HIGH] Why can't I get out?! [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK — DISTORTED GUITAR / RAPID DRUMS] [BRIDGE — MUSIC DROPS OUT] [WHISPERED] Don't call it loneliness. [SOFT] It's quieter than that. It's a room with one window and a view I never change. [PAUSE] Don't call it waiting. [LOWER] I'm not waiting. [LONG PAUSE] I'm just not leaving. [HEARTBEAT KICK] [BUILD] Years! [DRUM HIT] Months! Days! [FASTER] All of them disappear! [RISE] So why— [SHOUT] WHY IS ONE MOMENT STILL STANDING HERE?! [INSTRUMENTAL EXPLOSION] [FINAL CHORUS — FULL POWER] I COULD OPEN THE DOOR! [BACKING] Open the door! I could break the chain, turn the lights on, [HIGH HARMONY] Turn the lights on! Let somebody into my life! But the hand on the handle starts shaking every time— [STUTTERED VOCAL] Every—every—every time! And I hate that I still don't know why! [PAUSE] Maybe someday I'll finally step into the blue— [SOFT BACKING] Someday... Maybe someday I'll realize [BUILDING] I don't have to lose myself— [SHOUT] TO STOP HOLDING ONTO YOU! [FINAL INSTRUMENTAL HIT] [OUTRO — PIANO / CLEAN GUITAR] [SOFT] So... I'll move the chair tomorrow. [PAUSE] Maybe. [WHISPERED] Maybe... The years are already gone. [SOFT VOCAL] I suppose... I should go with them. [FINAL BREATH] Ahhhhhhhhhhh....!! [SLOW INSTRUMENTAL FADE OUT]
