A Crime Without A Witness

[Intro — Shimmering chorus-soaked electric guitar, warm analog synth haze, distant heartbeat kick. Intimate male baritone.] You asked me why I smiled at nothing. I said I couldn’t tell you why. Funny how the smallest conversation Can make a faithful man learn how to lie. [Verse 1 — Soft rolling drums, melodic bass, clean electric guitar] It wasn’t candlelight or hotel rooms, Wasn’t lipstick on a collar. Just a stranger asking how I was And waiting for an honest answer. She didn’t touch me, didn’t need to, Didn’t say a single thing she’d regret. But she remembered something I had told her That you hadn’t even noticed yet. [Pre-Chorus — Airy harmonies, rising bass movement] And there’s a difference between wanting And deciding what to do. But I’ve been drawing little borders That keep moving closer to you. [Chorus — Wide, soaring melodic hook, jangling guitars, warm layered harmonies] If nothing happened, why am I hiding? Why does silence sound like lying? Why’s an innocent conversation Feel like crossing state lines? No stolen kiss, no midnight bedroom, No photograph to burn. But I came home with something missing And something I can’t return. Tell me where the wrong begins When nobody’s touched anybody’s skin. [Verse 2 — Bass-led groove, restrained vocal phrasing] She asked me what I used to dream of Before I learned to compromise. And I heard myself describe a person I hadn’t been in quite some time. You asked me what we talked about. I said, “Oh, nothing much at all.” And that was technically the truth, If truth means leaving out the fall. [Pre-Chorus — Higher vocal register, subtle string-like synth] I didn’t promise her tomorrow. I didn’t offer her tonight. But I rehearsed another conversation While you were sleeping by my side. [Chorus — Bigger drums, melodic guitar countermelody] If nothing happened, why am I hiding? Why does silence sound like lying? Why’s an innocent conversation Feel like crossing state lines? No stolen kiss, no midnight bedroom, No photograph to burn. But I came home with something missing And something I can’t return. Tell me where the wrong begins When nobody’s touched anybody’s skin. [Bridge — Instrumentation drops to soft guitar and pulsing analog synth; vulnerable, gradually intensifying.] Maybe I don’t want another lover. Maybe I just miss being seen. Maybe she’s a mirror I walked past And recognized somebody I used to be. And maybe you’ve been lonely too, In ways I never thought to ask. Maybe we’ve been calling this devotion When it’s only knowing how to last. I could tell you every word we said, And still conceal the one thing that is true: I didn’t fall in love with her. I fell out of being lonely For an afternoon. [Final Chorus — Cathartic full-band lift, expressive high-lonesome vocal breaks] If nothing happened, why am I hiding? Why does silence sound like lying? How can something so completely harmless Leave a wound that needs disguising? No stolen kiss, no midnight bedroom, No evidence to find. But I came home a different person And left the old one somewhere behind. Tell me where the wrong begins When nobody’s touched anybody’s skin. [Outro — Drums fade; single shimmering guitar riff, warm tape hiss.] You asked me why I smiled at nothing. I think I finally know. I just don’t know how to tell you.