[Intro - Minimalist R&B piano and guitar, soft, velvety riffs that glide slowly… the voice enters, sensual and fragile, almost a whisper at first] Ooh… mmm… Ah-ah-ah… yeah… Ooh-ooh… baby… Mmmh… why you… Ahh… ah-ah… Yeah… my pain… ooh… [Verse 1 - Female R&B vocalist, smooth melisma, vocal runs, soulful ad-libs and riffs] Late nights, city lights flicker through my blinds I’m scrolling through our pictures, losing track of time Your voice still echoes in the corners of my mind Whispers of forever that you left behind We danced in the kitchen, barefoot on the floor Laughing like the world was ours and nothing more But now the silence screams louder than before [Pre-Chorus - Female R&B vocalist, smooth melisma, vocal runs, soulful ad-libs and riffs] And it rises in my chest like a wave about to crash Every breath I take reminds me of the past I try to run, I try to hide, but it always comes back This feeling that I carry, it’s the only thing that lasts [Chorus - Female R&B vocalist, smooth melisma, vocal runs, soulful ad-libs and riffs] This is my pain, the kind that don’t fade with the dawn The love that I gave you, now it’s a scar that I’m wearing on My pain, it whispers your name when the lights go low Keeps me up at 3 AM, won’t let me let you go [Verse 2 - Female R&B vocalist, smooth melisma, vocal runs, soulful ad-libs] Remember summer evenings, your head on my chest Talking ‘bout the future, said we’d never second-guess You painted pretty pictures, but they faded in the mess Now I’m picking up the pieces of the promises you left Your touch was velvet fire, burned slow and so deep Turned cold overnight, left me here to bleed I see you in the strangers walking down the street [Chorus - Female R&B vocalist, smooth melisma, vocal runs, soulful ad-libs and riffs] This is my pain, the kind that don’t fade with the dawn The love that I gave you, now it’s a scar that I’m wearing on My pain, it whispers your name when the lights go low Keeps me up at 3 AM, won’t let me let you go [Verse 3 - Female R&B vocalist, smooth melisma, vocal runs, soulful ad-libs and riffs] You said I was your safe place, then you set it on fire Watched it burn while smiling, never even tired I gave you all my secrets, every hidden desire You turned them into weapons, left me walking through the wire Friends say “let it go,” but they don’t feel this weight The way your absence lingers like a permanent stain I smile in the mirror, but the eyes don’t lie the same [Bridge - Female R&B vocalist, smooth melisma, vocal runs, soulful ad-libs and riffs] Therapy said “let it go,” but how do I release The only love that ever brought me to my knees? I’m stronger now, they say, but the cracks still show Every time the phone rings I pray it’s you, even though I know you’re gone, moved on to better things While I’m still here writing songs about the pain you bring [Instrumental - Distorted electric guitar riff with wah-wah pedal over the riddim (short phrases, rhythmic)] [Chorus - Female R&B vocalist, smooth melisma, vocal runs, soulful ad-libs and riffs] (x2) This is my pain, the kind that don’t fade with the dawn The love that I gave you, now it’s a scar that I’m wearing on My pain, it whispers your name when the lights go low Keeps me up at 3 AM, won’t let me let you go [Outro - Female R&B vocalist, smooth melisma, vocal runs, soulful ad-libs and riffs] Yeah… this is my pain… Fading in the morning light, but it never really leaves My pain… One day I’ll learn to dance with it, but tonight it’s all I breathe My pain… (soft ad-libs: “Still yours… even when it kills me… my pain…”) Fade out slow…
