[Intro] [Faint Applause, Pitched Down and Slowed Into a Melodic Drone] [A Single Soft Piano Note Rises Out of It] [Wordless Falsetto Hums the Coming Hook] Mm... mm-mm [Rhodes Enters, Hum Turns to Words] I know my lines, I just never get the stage [Beat Drops on "Stage"] [Verse 1] [Low Conversational Vocal, Even Meter] [Sparse Dusty Drums] You call me when the real one's out of town Rehearsed and ready every time you come around I know the part, I've had it memorized Standing in the wings, waiting for my cue that never comes on time You say I'm easy, say I'm no drama I used to think that was a compliment, now I see the pattern Every time he's back, I disappear Guess I'm only good enough when nobody better's here [Pre-Chorus] [Melody Climbs] [Harmonies Building] I know my part (Know my part) Been rehearsing in the dark (In the dark) [Beat Pause] [Chorus] [Melody Locks Into the Applause-Drone Shape From the Intro] [Full Beat, UK Garage Swing] I'm the understudy, understudy Only take the stage when he don't show I'm the understudy, understudy Word for word, but I don't get the glow I know the script better than he does I just never get to take the bow Understudy, understudy That's all I've ever been, somehow [Post-Chorus] [Half-Time] [Whispered Ad-Libs] (Understudy) ... (Never get the bow) ... [Instrumental Turnaround] [Muted Guitar Restates the Melody] [Applause Texture Returns, Filtered] [Verse 2] [Syncopated Pocket, Same Meter] [Deep Rounded Bass] Learned to read your moods before you speak Know exactly when to leave and when to keep you company Nobody coached me, I just paid attention While the lead was busy missing every single cue worth mentioning Funny how the one who does it right Gets treated like a backup for a man who can't show up on time I'm not asking for the crown Just wondering when the standby gets to be the one you're proud of [Pre-Chorus] [Same Melody] [Higher Harmony] I know my part (Know my part) Been rehearsing in the dark (In the dark) [Beat Pause] [Chorus] [Full Beat] [Warm Harmonies] I'm the understudy, understudy Only take the stage when he don't show I'm the understudy, understudy Word for word, but I don't get the glow I know the script better than he does I just never get to take the bow Understudy, understudy That's all I've ever been, somehow [Post-Chorus] [Call and Response] Understudy (Understudy!) Never get the bow (Never get the bow!) Understudy (Understudy!) Understudy [Bridge] [Beat Drops Out Completely] [Rhodes and Sub-Bass Only] [Vulnerable Tenor, Close-Mic] Maybe I stayed in the wings too long Maybe I liked being needed more than seen Maybe the part was never small Maybe I just never wrote myself a bigger scene I could walk out of the curtain Could stop waiting for a cue that's never gonna come But some part of me still wants the ending Where they clap for me instead of him [Silence — Two Full Bars] [Final Chorus] [Key Change Up a Step] [Full Vocal Stack, Strings Enter] I'm the understudy, understudy Only take the stage when he don't show I'm the understudy, understudy Word for word, but I don't get the glow I know the script better than he does I just never get to take the bow Understudy, understudy That's all I've ever been, somehow Maybe tonight I write my own part Maybe tonight I take the stage right from the start No more understudy, understudy No more waiting in the dark [Outro] [Strings Fade, Applause Texture Returns — Now Full and Real, Not Filtered] [Soft Falsetto, Close-Mic] Mm... mm-mm No more waiting in the dark (No more understudy) [Silence]
