[Intro] (soft piano, close mic, almost a whisper) Old brown ears, a button eye You go with me everywhere I try Don't tell anyone, keep it our own Just you and me, just us at home [Verse 1] I hold you close, I hold you tight I say the rules, I say what's right But the big kids by the fence just stare Calling you a baby toy, and I don't want them there [Pre-Chorus] My friends say I'm being stubborn, say I'm being mean For not playing their big-kid games So I look at you and I say the words I've never said before [Chorus] Top shelf, closet door, I don't need you anymore I don't need you here, I don't need you here (Strings swell — baroque, theatrical) I walk by fast, I look away Pretend I don't see you every day I don't need you here, I don't need you here! [Verse 2] (chiptune arpeggios enter, felt kick, syncopated shakers) Look what I got, it beeps, it glows Spinning lights in every row All the kids come look at me So many stars, it's the best thing they've seen [Pre-Chorus 2] I tell myself I'm cooler now, tell myself I've grown But holding something shiny still feels cold and all alone [Chorus] Top shelf, closet door, I don't need you anymore I don't need you here, I don't need you here I walk by fast, I look away Pretend I don't see you every day I don't need you here I lied, I lied, I lied! [Bridge — half-time, strings pull back to solo piano] Hard day, hard day, nothing went right My new toy can't hold me tight I run down the hallway, hand out for the shelf I love you again I take it back myself [Break — silence, then one bare vocal line] The shelf is empty. You're not there. [Final Chorus — full orchestral crescendo, child vocalist, wide stereo strings, theatrical chorus lift] I didn't say it soon enough, didn't say the words in time Now the closet's just a closet, and the shelf's an empty line I don't need you that's what I said But I needed you, I needed you, I needed you instead! [Outro — fading piano, hall reverb, almost the intro melody again but broken] Old brown ears, a button eye Somewhere out there, under someone's sky I never got to tell you so I loved you here. I loved you here. I just never...
