[Intro] The city lights below my window blur into a grid. I trace the grain of the wood with one finger. The whole world seems to hold its breath when I sit down. Everything else is just background noise. [Verse 1] You start out with so much conviction. That first step forward feels like the biggest thing that’s ever happened. You call it a revolution, a new beginning, a promise. I just see you clearing the center of the board for me. [Pre-Chorus] I watch you agonize over your decision. As if it’s the first time anyone in history has ever had to make it. You try so hard to be unpredictable, to find a new way. And honestly, I do appreciate the effort. [Chorus] But every brilliant idea you think is yours alone, Is just a ghost on a path I laid down years ago. Every door you kick open, every rebellion you start, I was the one who left the key, I was the one who let it fall apart. [Verse 2] Your knights jump around, thinking they’re so clever. A little bit of chaos to shake things up. They’re my favorite to watch, for a little while anyway. Until they land on the exact square I knew they would. [Guitar Solo] [Bridge] Sometimes I wonder what it would feel like to not know. To only see my own moves, my own little patch of the world. To feel that surge of hope, or that sharp sting of fear. To really believe that my choices mattered. But the patterns are just too clear from up here. [Chorus] And that brilliant idea you think is yours alone, Is just a ghost on a path I laid down a long time ago. Every door you kick open, every flag you raise so high, I was the one who left the key, I was the one who watched it die. [Outro] There’s not much left on the board now. So much open space. Your king is standing in the middle of it all, with nowhere to go. It’s not an attack. It's not violent. It's just gravity. Checkmate.
