# You First [Hook Intro — Both] You first, then me No counting to three The fear doesn’t leave We just move while it speaks If the whole line starts shaking And there’s nothing beneath You first, then me We both take the leap [Verse 1 — Ayoa, Female] The jungle closed behind us Branches tangled in my hair Then the earth split open suddenly Black and breathing under there An old rope bridge was hanging Half-swallowed by the mist I said, “That will never hold us” You pointed to my fist The crystal beat against my palm And drew a silver thread You didn’t make a grand prediction You just looked at me and said— [Pre-Chorus — Kaelo, Male] Mi can’t promise it won’t tremble Can’t promise fear will disappear But your will is stronger than the crossing And I’ll be right behind you here [Chorus — Both] You first, then me No counting to three The fear doesn’t leave We just move while it speaks If the whole line starts shaking And there’s nothing beneath You first, then me We both take the leap You first, then me One foot in the air We don’t need an answer Before we step out there If the silver keeps holding We cross and we breathe If the silver starts breaking You first, then me [Verse 2 — Kaelo, Male] I watched you place one foot where There was nothing you could see The crystal held beneath you Like it trusted your belief Halfway through, you turned to find me Then the darkness cut the thread The silver split beneath your body And the open space turned red We dropped into the empty With no landing underneath Then the vines rose like a cradle From the forest’s tangled deep We landed in the copper flowers Heat was breathing through the leaves You looked at me and started laughing “So that’s what trust can be” [Pre-Chorus — Ayoa, Female] Trust was never in the crystal Or the promise it would hold It was taking one step forward Without knowing where we’d go [Chorus — Both] You first, then me No counting to three The fear doesn’t leave We just move while it speaks If the whole line starts shaking And there’s nothing beneath You first, then me We both take the leap You first, then me One foot in the air We don’t need an answer Before we step out there If the silver keeps holding We cross and we breathe If the silver starts breaking You first, then me [Bridge — Both] The bridge was not the lesson The far side not the prize We never reached the place We thought was waiting on the other side But the fall became an entrance To a place we had to see Sometimes trust is not the landing It’s who is falling there with me [Breakdown — Ayoa, Female] You said, “Trust” I asked you how The answer wasn’t in the bridge I understand it now [Final Chorus — Both] You first, then me No counting to three The fear can keep talking It doesn’t decide for me If the whole line starts shaking And there’s nothing beneath You first, then me We both take the leap You first, then me Whatever we find No promise of safety No perfect design The silver may shatter The ground may retreat But if one of us moves The other moves their feet You first, then me [Outro — Kaelo, Male] Mi said, “You first” And you stepped into the air [Outro — Ayoa, Female] The line did not hold us [Both] But the trust was always there [outro piano] [outro whisper] Ben, Ben, Bennie pon di riddim Mmmmhhhh.....
