If I say I like “like you” like you?

Too… too-da-de-hooooo… Oh lord… not again… Um… hi. VERSE 1 My great-granddaddy Hank, back in 1892, Carved a love flute for his girl near the old mill flume But he never thought to warn me how it hits at noon, Like a runaway mule playing all the wrong tunes. ‘Cause I saw you by the river in that peach-sky glow, My heart hollered “YES,” but my knees said “no,” And my voice went rogue like a creek past its banks Yai-yai-yo-ohhhh You’re welcome. No thanks. PRE-CHORUS 1 I tried to say “hey,” But my tongue said “hallelujah.” My brain screamed “RETREAT,” But my shoes said “we’re glued here.” Even the mountains heard me choke, And somewhere in the ridgelines… a banjo snickered. CHORUS If I said I like you like, like you like you Would you maybe say you like me like me too? If my voice went too-da-de-hoo-ah-ah-AHH, Would you giggle a little… or flee the scene? Would you hold my hand though it trembles like leaves? If I said I like you like a poet gone feral Would your heart ring sweet like an Appalachian carol? VERSE 2 Einstein once mispronounced “lovely” to a girl, Socrates forgot his own name when love unfurled, Shakespeare crossed out “um” from a sonnet’s first draft Even the giants crumble when Cupid laughs. So what chance has a boy with a heart like a spark, Chest full of kindling, afraid of the dark, Trying to tell a girl with braids like the dawn Yai-yo-yai Oh, come on. PRE-CHORUS 2 I practiced my words with my goat by the barn. He ate my speech. Now I’m standing here burning like a barn-alarm, And my throat Is doing Civil War reenactments. CHORUS If I said I like you like, like you like you Would the sky say, “Child… she likes you too”? If I cracked a hormone yodel right in your ear Yai-yai-ahh oh dear Would you pat my shoulder like, “You’re doing just fine,” Though my soul is pooling like August pine? If I said I like you like a legend passed down, Would your smile lift the mist from this whole mountain town? BRIDGE (spoken softly, almost to himself) Listen to the quiet part… The low hum. The old tune. The piece of your heart that learned love before language did. Let the ridges breathe for you. Let the river in your ribs run gold. And let the boy standing in front of you be brave for the very first time. FINAL CHORUS (voice cracking, fully committed) If I said I like you like, like you like you Do you think you’d say you like me like me too? If a yodel burst out like a geyser of doom, Would you laugh softly… make the whole world bloom? If my whole chest shakes like a wagon wheel loose, Would you stay right here no excuse? If I like you like you with everything I am, Would you maybe whisper… “I like you too… same”? OUTRO (barely audible) That’s… that’s all I got. Too-da-de-hoo… ah… ah… ah… ahhhh…