08 - Public softness LIVE

[mood: sharp] [energy: medium] [intro | sharp guitar pulse | deep bass | driving drums] [verse 1 | spoken-sung | close vocal | nervous pulse] clean tone good posture say it smooth keep it easy let the edges blur in public make the damage look like grace say it light wear it better leave the heat outside the line give them something bright and portable something clear they can align [pre-chorus | building | tighter drums] I know exactly how it plays how to land how to behave how to smile and make it useful how to fade without a trace [chorus | mobile | melodic lift | wider guitars] you want the softened version the one that moves without a sound the one that keeps the face together when the knives are going round I know what I should do to please you I leave it there and let it drop this is what stays when all that polish doesn’t get to do the talking [verse 2 | spoken-sung | steady drive] good lines good angles good language for the light keep it warm for every stranger keep it nice and keep it right all that careful public sweetness all that edited restraint something washed and made presentable something almost safe to praise [pre-chorus | building | bass forward] I know the version you prefer less alive and easily heard less trouble in the picture less of me in every word [chorus | mobile | fuller drums | darker guitars] you want the polished outline the one that never makes you choose the one that stays available while the real one stays unused I know what I should do to please you I don’t on purpose not this time this is who I am not some washed out version left behind [bridge | breakdown | stripped back] say it softer say it cleaner say it like it doesn’t sting say it pretty for the surface say it like it means nothing [final chorus | energy: high | full band | bigger harmonies] keep your careful little softening keep your clean and practiced lie keep your well-behaved illusion keep your version bright and dry I know what I should do to please you I don’t I won’t not this time [outro | screamed vocal | full band hit] noooooooooo