After the Applause

The hall is breathing through the doors Your hands find one more chord All the lights are tired, all the names are gone Flowers in a paper cup lean into the dawn I sang for the ceiling, I sang through the glare But the song that found me was waiting there Your coat on a chair, my shoes on the stage Nothing to prove, nothing to save After the applause, after the flame After the room has given back my name It was never the thunder, never the gold It was the hand I did not hold All the little things we leave behind Come back softly when the lights go blind There were calls I missed, letters I delayed Windows full of morning I walked past every day Someone asked me gently 'Are you still here?' I smiled like an answer and disappeared Now the seats are empty, the velvet is worn Your left hand trembles under the storm After the applause, after the flame After the room has given back my name It was never the thunder, never the gold It was the hand I did not hold All the little things we leave behind Come back softly when the lights go blind Play it smaller, let it ache Not for the cameras, not for the take Just the breath before we speak Just the mercy of being weak Let the silence tell the truth What I forgot is what I knew After the applause, after the flame After the world forgets my name Leave me a window, leave me a chair Leave me one person still waiting there All the little things we leave behind Are the only things that stay in time The hall is breathing through the doors Your hands find one last chord And I hear what I came here for