[Intro — slow electric guitar, bass enters underneath] [Verse 1] I learned the temperature of a room Before I learned my own Who had been drinking Who was angry Who needed something from me I could tell by the way A sentence changed direction Halfway through I became very good At becoming harmless [Verse 2] Years later I can still feel the calculation Don't laugh yet Don't answer that Don't make it worse Don't make yourself difficult Nobody says these things now My body keeps the schedule [Chorus] I was someone for a second I was good at being him He knew exactly when to disappear He knew exactly when to give in I buried what I had to I called it getting better But sometimes I hear that voice come out of me And I know exactly Who taught it how to speak [Guitar interlude] [Verse 3] There's a particular kind of silence That makes me fifteen again Not the quiet The waiting The part before the door opens Before a name gets called Before you find out What version of the night you've got I hate that I still understand it [Pre-Chorus] Nothing is happening That's what makes it worse [Chorus] I was someone for a second I was good at being him I could make myself disappear Without leaving where I'd been I thought the damage ended When I stopped going back Funny thing— I brought somebody with me [Instrumental — guitars begin overlapping, one repeating a crooked melodic phrase] [Bridge] Don't ask me Why I apologize When I haven't done anything Don't ask me Why I explain myself Before anybody asks Don't ask me Why kindness makes me suspicious I know where it came from. I just don't know How to send it back. [Guitar solo — long, melodic, increasingly dissonant] [Final Chorus] I was someone for a second Maybe longer than I knew I gave him every useful part of me And kept the rest to get me through Now he's wearing my expression He's answering in my voice And every now and then For one second I mistake him for myself [Outro] One for a second One for a second Then I remember I'm the one Who survived him.
