[Intro: fragmented, tape hiss, wow flutter, room noise, piano shards, no full melody] (glitched inhale) (cut) Keep— (cut) Keep still— (metallic hit, tape wobble) (fractured vocal: "still") [Verse 1: porcelain morning, clipped rasp, fluorescent hush, sparse piano] Keep the collar closed until the elevator blinks Soft as a practiced weather report Clip my vowels so they fit the glass Hold a temperature nobody asked to touch Smile lives one inch above the jaw Switch the laugh before the greeting lands Leave a warmer name hung on the hook [Pre-Chorus: rising hush, analog bass enters] Wait for the click that means I started Wait for the room to pick a version [Chorus: infectious, powerful, stacked low female, liquid drums bloom, distorted guitar halo] Don't count the faces I packed extras in the bag Don't count the faces I change her when the laugh goes lag One of them will get you home None of them sleep in my bones Don't count the faces Don't count the faces [Post-Chorus: chant hook, metallic hits] (Don't count) (Don't count) I already learned the part [Verse 2: social neon, smoother power, brighter pad, still cold] Pour a brighter pitch across the table Borrow someone else's easy noon Toast like the glass invented me Lean into the joke I memorized Glow just long enough to pass as warm [Pre-Chorus] Wait for the click that means I started Wait for the room to pick a version [Chorus] Don't count the faces I packed extras in the bag Don't count the faces I change her when the laugh goes lag One of them will get you home None of them sleep in my bones Don't count the faces Don't count the faces [Instrumental Break: fragmented pause one, drums drop, tape snarl, piano fragment, glitch stutter, no lead vocal] (cut) (wow flutter) (room tone) (metallic hit) (reverse scrap of "faces") [Verse 3: kitchen-hour unmasking, rasp returns, dark pads, sparse bass] Now the hallway light is cheaper Still I answer in a rented tone Fold the sparkle back into a drawer Rinse the courtesy off of my palms Quiet sits beside the running tap Count the hours I performed as kind Leave the extra mouths inside the coat [Bridge: contrast, whispered then belted, key-color shift, suddenly honest] But if you catch me after closing I don't owe the room a shape I can stand here with no costume And still take up a little space Call the quiet one by accident She won't stay if you applaud [Instrumental Break: fragmented pause two, half-time liquid drums, analog bass growl, guitar smear, vocal chops only] (chop: "quiet") (chop: "stay") (tape stop) (hit) [Final Chorus: biggest, smooth power over rasp, stacked harmonies, infectious] Don't count the faces I packed extras in the bag Don't count the faces I change her when the laugh goes lag One of them will get you home None of them sleep in my bones Don't count the faces Don't count— (cut) Don't count the faces [Outro: fragmented, documentary hiss, piano shard, fading room] Whoever answers Isn't staying late Whoever answers Leaves her on the grate (whisper) keep still (glitch) keep— [Instrumental Outro: cold pads, analog bass, metallic hits thinning, tape hiss rising] [Fade Out] [End]
