[Intro] (interlocking sebène lead guitars ripple and weave over a hi-hat-driven groove, tumba and conga, warm Rhodes and Hammond, horns breathing in, sunlit) [Verse 1] (rippling rhythm guitars and brushed glitter-rock drums, hushed vocal, Hammond comping, tape saturation) Spent a hot July convinced there's only so much sky to go around Counting everybody's plate, sure my slice was getting found Held my little candle close so nobody'd steal the light White-knuckle on a good thing, guarding embers through the night [Pre-Chorus] (horns and pedal steel lifting, sebène guitars brightening) Then a stranger held a wick up, said "you mind?" and I said "fine" And my flame jumped over, lit her up — and I still had all of mine [Chorus] (full horns and warm communal harmonies bloom, interlocking guitars shimmering, euphoric) Turns out it's not a zero-sum summer, not a pie you cut in fours Some things grow the more you hand them out the door A candle lights another and it doesn't lose a thing You winning didn't cost me — that's the season I've been missing It's not a zero-sum summer after all [Verse 2] (back to the rippling soukous groove, sebène lead answering the vocal, congas driving) Told my buddy 'bout the good news, waited for the jealous sting But his whole face just opened up, and now we've both got the thing Gave away the only recipe, the one I swore I'd keep And it came back around the block with a slice for me to eat [Pre-Chorus] (horns and organ climbing, guitars weaving faster) See, the score I kept for decades was a game that no one won Turns out love's the kind of math that adds up under everyone [Chorus] (bigger, communal harmonies wide, horns glowing) Turns out it's not a zero-sum summer, not a pie you cut in fours Some things grow the more you hand them out the door A candle lights another and it doesn't lose a thing You winning didn't cost me — that's the season I've been missing It's not a zero-sum summer after all [Bridge] (drops to Rhodes and hushed vocal and soft congas, guitars gentle, honest) Not everything's a candle, some stuff really is a slice The rent, the seat, the finish line — I know, I've paid the price But the biggest things I chased like they'd run out on me by fall — The love, the joy, the letting-in — there was always room for all [Instrumental solo] (a soaring interlocking-sebène and horn solo trading joyful lines with pedal steel over the churning congas, Hammond swirling, building) [Final Chorus] (biggest lift, whole band and choir-warm harmonies, jubilant) So it's not a zero-sum summer, throw the ledger in the lake Pass the flame around the table, watch how much light we make A candle lights another and it doesn't lose a thing And my cup's been running over since I quit the hoarding It's not a zero-sum summer after all [Outro] (the interlocking guitars ripple back to the intro figure, horns and congas fading, Hammond settling, spring reverb trailing off)
