Knew at the rehearsal

[Mood: The minute before she walked in, stretched into a Bieber-pocket love song] [Vocal Style: Cold-open vocal chop, breathy close-mic verses with a light rhythmic pocket, smooth falsetto hook riding the pluck synth, pitched-up "I knew" background chops] [Intro — cold open, single piano chord, pitched-up vocal chop, no drums] (pitched-up chop) I knew, I knew, I knew (piano chord holds) Santa Ana summer, chapel in the afternoon Standing at the altar, waiting for you (pluck synth enters, kick drops) [Verse 1] (breathy, close-mic, light pocket) Seventeen summers ago, I was standing in a suit Brother at the altar and I'm next to him mute Program in my hand that I'm folding into squares Pastor running lines and I'm pretending that I care But the truth is I could feel it in the marble on the floor Like the room was holding something that it never held before Bridesmaids in the hallway but they hadn't come in yet And my heart was doing something that my head couldn't forget [Pre-Chorus] (airy stacks float in, pluck pattern teasing) And I knew, I knew Before I even saw you Oh, I knew, I knew Before the door even moved Hold on Hold on I'm coming through [Chorus / Drop] (pluck synth drop, four-on-the-floor kick, shaker, falsetto hook riding the plucks) I knew, I knew, I knew it Before you walked in, I knew it (I knew, I knew, I knew) Seventeen years in a minute And I already knew you'd be in it (I knew, I knew, I knew) Girl, I knew Before you walked in, I knew (I knew, I knew, I knew) Rehearsal I knew you at the rehearsal [Verse 2] (drums pull back to kick and shaker, verse intimate, light pocket) I could hear the heels in the hallway, I could hear 'em gettin' near I could hear the organ practice and a bridesmaid's little cheer I could hear my brother breathing out a nervous little sigh I could hear my own heart asking my own heart why It's a funny kinda thing when a room starts to tilt And the second before the moment is the moment itself I was twenty-something, standing in my rented-out shoes And the version of me waiting was about to meet you [Pre-Chorus] (build doubles, vocal chops climbing) And I knew, I knew Before I even saw you Oh, I knew, I knew Every single thing about you Hold on Hold on I'm almost you [Chorus / Drop] (bigger drop, vocal chop layer doubled) I knew, I knew, I knew it Before you walked in, I knew it (I knew, I knew, I knew) Seventeen years in a minute And I already knew you'd be in it (I knew, I knew, I knew) Girl, I knew Before you walked in, I knew (I knew, I knew, I knew) Rehearsal I knew you at the rehearsal [Bridge — drums drop, just piano, shaker, airy pad, vocal chops layered] (breathy, intimate) Dinner at a table and I told you half my life You laughed at all the parts I didn't think were nice Next morning you were standing in the kitchen in the light And I knew right there, girl, I was gonna do it right Every version of the man I was becoming was a draft And the one you helped me build is the only one that lasts (pluck synth re-enters, pitched-up chops cascade) I knew, I knew, I knew, I knew I knew, I knew, I knew, I knew [Final Chorus / Drop] (full drop, maximum pluck-synth lift, vocal stacks doubled) I knew, I knew, I knew it Before you walked in, I knew it (I knew, I knew, I knew) Seventeen years in a minute And I already knew you'd be in it (I knew, I knew, I knew) Fifteen years in a marriage And I'm still at the rehearsal (I knew, I knew, I knew) Girl, I knew Before you walked in, I knew (I knew, I knew, I knew) Rehearsal I knew you at the rehearsal [Outro — pluck synth fades, piano chord returns, vocal chops trail] (breathy, close-mic) Santa Ana summer, chapel in the afternoon Standing at the altar You hadn't walked in yet But I knew I knew (pluck chop fades) I knew you at the rehearsal Rehearsal