My Name Is Brian

[Intro — sparse acoustic guitar, low shimmering Telecaster, 78 BPM] Tuesday. 7:10. I didn't plan on walking in. I just followed the rain. [Verse 1] Mabel didn’t look up this time Just wiped down the counter twice Earl left the radio playing low Playing some old advice I took the seat three stools away Where the coffee stays cold and the paper’s unread You stared straight ahead at the porcelain mug Like you were seeing the things that he said [Pre-Chorus] I know the weight of a ghost in a room I know how easy it is to pretend You spend half your life running away from the past Just to sit down and watch it begin [Chorus] So keep your blue ink and keep your closed door Keep staring down at the floor I never promised to stay till the morning I never said I was yours to ignore You wanted a mystery, wanted a sign Wanted a reason to look for a flaw Well, here’s your reminder in a gray woolen coat— I’m the ghost that you didn’t foretell [Verse 2] You thought you were clever, checking the chair Leaving the note where the diner light fades Tracing the lines of a seventeen-year-old Argument carved into state lines and shades The bell at the door gave a rattle and snap You turned round expecting to catch me in flight Just an empty wood stool and a cup left half-full And a stranger who stepped in the night [Pre-Chorus] Maybe the diner was never real Maybe the coffee was just an excuse To see if you’d look up and call out a name Without making a single damn truce [Chorus] So keep your blue ink and keep your closed door Keep staring down at the floor I never promised to stay till the morning I never said I was yours to ignore You wanted a mystery, wanted a sign Wanted a reason to look for a flaw Well, here’s your reminder in a gray woolen coat— I’m the ghost that you didn’t foretell [Bridge — stripped back, fiddle weeping low] You say he didn't come back? You say the stool is just wood? Look closer at who’s sitting next to you now In the shadow where nobody stood I was never three stools down, Jenna. My name is Brian. And I’ve been sitting right here in your head. [Final Chorus — full dark Appalachian noir weight] So keep your blue ink and keep your closed door Keep staring down at the floor I never promised to stay till the morning I never said I was yours to ignore You wanted a mystery, wanted a sign Wanted a reason to look for a flaw Well, here’s your reminder in a gray woolen coat— I’m the ghost that you didn’t foretell [Outro — quiet, single acoustic string pluck] Mabel finally stopped wiping down the counter. Looked right at the empty space where the gray coat used to be. Then she looked at me. "He didn't come back," she said. "Who are you?" I dropped a dollar next to my cold coffee. "My name is Brian." I pushed open the door and stepped out into the rain. I leave the haunting to the ghosts. [Hard stop]