[STYLE: Jazz Blues, sophisticated late-night club atmosphere, minor-key blues with rich jazz harmony and restrained swing] [INTRO: 16 bars, brushed drums, upright bass walking softly, sophisticated piano chords, muted trumpet answering a clean jazz guitar motif] [VERSE 1] There's blue notes after midnight Floating through the room There's blue notes after midnight Dancing underneath the moon The bartender keeps polishing A glass he doesn't need And every lonely stranger Has a story he won't read [PRE-CHORUS: Piano becomes more prominent, muted trumpet fills] I came here looking for silence But the silence knows my name Every chord keeps reminding me That love and loss are the same [CHORUS: Smooth jazz-blues ensemble] Blue notes after midnight Tell me what you know Blue notes after midnight Tell me where to go I've been chasing old memories Through every smoky room Blue notes after midnight Still singing out of tune [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK 1: 8 bars, muted trumpet solo, piano comping, upright bass walking, brushed drums] [VERSE 2] A woman in the corner wears a silver dress tonight A woman in the corner wears a silver dress tonight She looks across the room at me and disappears from sight The piano player knows a song I haven't heard before The piano player knows a song I haven't heard before But somehow every single note reminds me of the door [PRE-CHORUS: Tenor sax enters with soft fills] Maybe I should leave here Maybe I should stay Sometimes a lonely heart Just needs another song to play [CHORUS: Full ensemble] Blue notes after midnight Tell me what you know Blue notes after midnight Tell me where to go I've been chasing old memories Through every smoky room Blue notes after midnight Still singing out of tune [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK 2: 24 bars, tenor sax solo over jazz-blues changes, piano comping, walking bass, brushed drums] [VERSE 3] I remember your perfume and the way you said my name I remember your perfume and the way you said my name Funny how a single memory can bring back all the pain We thought we'd last forever, we thought we'd never change We thought we'd last forever, we thought we'd never change But time has got a funny way of making everything strange [BRIDGE: Half-time feel, sparse piano and upright bass] Maybe love is just a melody We hear but can't explain Maybe every beautiful song Must carry some refrain Maybe I was holding on To something already gone Maybe these blue notes after midnight Are teaching me to move on [FINAL CHORUS: Warm, emotional, sophisticated] Blue notes after midnight You don't hurt me anymore Blue notes after midnight I'm not waiting by the door I've been carrying your memory Like a shadow on the wall But tonight those blue notes Don't control me anymore Blue notes after midnight Fade into the dawn Blue notes after midnight Tell me I can carry on Every lonely melody Has finally found its tune Blue notes after midnight Disappear beneath the moon [FINAL VOCAL AD LIBS] Blue notes... After midnight... Fade into the dawn... And I carry on... [OUTRO: 16 bars, piano plays delicate final jazz-blues voicings, muted trumpet reprises opening motif] [ENDING: Single muted trumpet note followed by soft upright bass resolution]
