Let the Silence Fall

[Verse 1] You said, “Come by when the week lets go,” I typed three versions, erased them slow. A laugh in the hall, your sleeve brushed mine, I kept my answer half a beat behind. [Pre-Chorus] I know the trick: make every sentence small, Say nothing sharp enough to risk it all. But you’re looking straight at me tonight— I can’t keep editing the light. [Chorus] If I say I want you, will you turn away? Will your careful kindness change by break of day? I’m tired of rehearsing every possible no; Here’s the part I hide, and now you know. If I say I want you, let the silence fall— I’d rather meet your answer than not ask at all. [Verse 2] Your thumb draws circles on a sweating glass, You tell me what you’ve kept behind your laugh. I want to reach, then count the ways it ends; My heart keeps skipping where the truth begins. [Pre-Chorus] I know the trick: make every sentence small, Say nothing sharp enough to risk it all. But you’re looking straight at me tonight— I can’t keep editing the light. [Chorus] If I say I want you, will you turn away? Will your careful kindness change by break of day? I’m tired of rehearsing every possible no; Here’s the part I hide, and now you know. If I say I want you, let the silence fall— I’d rather meet your answer than not ask at all. [Bridge] Maybe you’ll say no. I’ll feel it, then. Maybe we’ll still speak like we did back then. But I won’t make my wanting disappear Just to keep your almost-answer near. [Final Chorus] I said I want you—now the air has changed. You take a breath; my hands unclench again. Whatever comes, I’m standing in what’s true; I risked the honest word. I offered you. If I say I want you, let the silence fall— I’d rather meet your answer than not ask at all. [Outro] I’d rather ask than never know at all.