[Intro: solo piano, slowly building strings, 8 bars] [Verse 1] The chairs are stacked, the lights are low The last of everyone has gone But I'm still here beside the glass Holding on to what's been lost We used to close this place down every night Talking till the morning painted white You'd say the universe was listening in And I believed you, I believed you then [Verse 2] The photographs are in a box Beneath the bed I barely sleep in now Your handwriting on a receipt A date, a time, a sacred vow You wrote "don't forget" beside a heart I never did, that was the easy part The hard part is the chair that's always free The empty space that used to carry me [Pre-Chorus] [Building intensity] And I know that time is supposed to heal But whoever said that never learned to feel The weight of amber hours standing still [Chorus] [Powerful belting] These amber hours won't let me go They hold me in their golden glow Every shadow in this room still knows your name These amber hours burn so slow Like embers from a fire long ago And I'm still warming my hands on the flame On the flame [Verse 3] The barista says she hasn't seen you here Since sometime back in late October, dear She asks me if I'd like the usual two I tell her no, just one will do The music playing sounds like our old song The kind that feels a minute but lasts so long I close my eyes and I can almost see You sitting right in front of me [Pre-Chorus] [Building intensity] And I know that time is supposed to heal But whoever said that never learned to feel The weight of amber hours standing still [Chorus] [Powerful belting] These amber hours won't let me go They hold me in their golden glow Every shadow in this room still knows your name These amber hours burn so slow Like embers from a fire long ago And I'm still warming my hands on the flame [Bridge] [Soft-spoken, minimal arrangement] Maybe I should leave and never come back Maybe I should find another road, another track [Building intensity, full orchestra] But something keeps me in this amber light Something says that holding on is not the same as losing fight And maybe you're out there in your own corner of the world With your own amber hours, slowly getting unfurled And maybe, just maybe, on some quiet afternoon You'll feel it too — the warmth of this room [Chorus] [Full power, strings and piano] These amber hours won't let me go They hold me in their golden glow Every shadow in this room still knows your name These amber hours burn so slow Like embers from a fire long ago And I'm still warming my hands on the flame On the flame [Outro: piano slowly fading, single cello note] Amber hours… amber hours… Still warming my hands… On the flame… [Fading vocals] On the flame…
