[INTRO — dusty upright piano alone, soft vinyl crackle, slow speakeasy swing; muted trumpet sighs in the distance like the room has gone quiet before the confession starts] [VERSE 1 — close young male vocal, higher-pitched tenor/light baritone, tired and intimate; upright bass enters softly, brushed snare barely moving] I wore your silence Like a black hood drawn Moonlight on my knuckles And your name till dawn Cold smoke rising From a tired claim Every empty hallway Still repeats your name [PRE-CHORUS 1 — voice lifts slightly with wounded clarity; clarinet answers underneath, restrained and aching] I felt like a joke Hold up—reframe Past-tense pain Every mirror Knows my name [CHORUS 1 — intimate jazz-club band enters; muted trumpet between phrases, vocal still controlled] Swing me down Our love went dark But my teeth held fast Never had a heart So there’s nothing to break You were so smart I followed through With the future that we made I wrote Death’s Love Serenade [POST-CHORUS — soft low male hums, piano and bass only] Oh-oh… Death’s Love Serenade… [VERSE 2 — bitter but smooth; young male vocal leans into lazy lounge phrasing] Streetlamps flicker Like dying stars Your ghost still sleeping Inside my scars I taste the midnight On every breath Some loves bloom slowly Ours danced with death [PRE-CHORUS 2 — stronger vocal push; brushed drums and bass deepen] Is this a joke? I still remain Lessons learned in pain To see you now Would be in vain [CHORUS 2 — fuller than before; clarinet and trumpet weave mournfully] Swing me down Our love went dark But I outlived the past Never had a heart So there’s nothing to break You were so smart I followed through With the future that we made So I wrote Death’s Love Serenade [BRIDGE — stripped nearly bare; piano sparse, young male vocal almost spoken] If heaven heard us It turned away No saints for boys Who beg with disdain [BUILD — slow jazz swell; drums rise, trumpet grows darker, low male hums begin underneath] And I still hear you… Am I insane…? [FINAL CHORUS — full smoky jazz band; young male lead vocal rises higher with wounded clarity, low male backing hums stay subtle behind him while muted trumpet and clarinet answer the phrases] Bury me down Sweet dark embrace Our love ran black In death’s funeral chase You have my heart You’re not to blame You’re still so smart To trade our future name This is Death’s Love Serenade [OUTRO — band falls away until only piano, bass, and faint low male harmony remain] Death’s love… Death’s Love Serenade… [piano lingers at the very end]
