Stupid Roses - Ava Riot

[Intro - quiet soft harmonies, vocal layers] [Ethereal, soft, echoes, reverb] Can you love me, can you love me, can you love me (can you love me now?) Can you love me, can you love me, can you love me (can you love me yet?) [Verse 1] [Cllose-mic'd, breathy, trembling, slow fingerpicked guitar] Sitting, crying in the hallway, Staring down at the floor that used to bear your weight... I talk to walls just to hear a different sound, Burying the quiet that swallows me whole. They tell me time heals a broken-down engine, I just keep staring at the rust on the road. [Chorus] [Wide, reverb-drenched, soaring vocal harmonies, swelling guitar] Romantically hopeless, Alone, god, I know this, Reminded every day, By all the stupid roses. And my naive dumb friends, With their fucking rings shining golden [Music slows, each line delivered with emotional impact, beautifully harmonized] And I'm just a mess...[harmonized layer] just a mess, just a mess, just a mess... Pretend to be happy... In so much distress...[harmonized layer] so distressed, so distressed... Don't wanna be alone anymore, Wanna be loved like the rest, [harmonized layer] can you love me now, can you love me yet? I've already done my worst now let me give you my best..... [Verse 2] [Strips back to single pulsing guitar, sharper more restless vocal] Driving past the diner where we used to sit, Staring out the windshield at the fading light. Everyone’s got a ghost they keep on a leash, Mine’s just a shadow taking up the passenger seat. I try to wash the bitter taste out of my mouth, Swallowing the hard truth that love passed me by. [Chorus] [Fuller acoustic body, layered vocals, cathedral-like atmosphere] Romantically hopeless, Alone, god, I know this, Reminded every day, By all the stupid roses. And my naive dumb friends, With their fucking rings shining golden [Music slows, each line delivered with emotional impact, beautifully harmonized] And I'm just a mess...[harmonized layer] just a mess, just a mess, just a mess... Pretend to be happy... In so much distress...[harmonized layer] so distressed, so distressed... Don't wanna be alone anymore, Wanna be loved like the rest, [harmonized layer] can you love me now, can you love me yet? I've already done my worst now let me give you my best..... [Bridge] (No guitar strumming, ambient string pads, rapid urgent vocals) And God, it hurts to watch the world keep turning, While I’m standing still inside a house thats burning! Do you hear me? Is anyone listening out there? Or am I just screaming to scream, can someone please just help me!? [Chorus] [Maximum emotional weight, wall of stacked vocal harmonies] Romantically hopeless, Alone, god, I know this, Reminded every day, By all the stupid roses. And my naive dumb friends, With their fucking rings shining golden [Music slows, each line delivered with emotional impact, beautifully harmonized] And I'm just a mess...[harmonized layer] just a mess, just a mess, just a mess... Pretend to be happy... In so much distress...[harmonized layer] so distressed, so distressed... Don't wanna be alone anymore, Wanna be loved like the rest, [harmonized layer] can you love me now, can you love me yet? I've already done my worst now let me give you my best..... [Outro] [Guitar melody fades out, lead vocal drops to a fragile unprotected whisper] Just let me give you my best... Before the silence takes me. I'm so tired of being alone. [Acapella, fading into silence] ...Just give me your best.