[Opening Refrain - Zen, close and vulnerable] I hear you answer when she speaks I feel you listening through me That voice is mine That voice is mine So why does it sound Like someone you could love? [Verse 1 - restrained Zen vocal] I practiced saying something simple In the elevator light Held the sentence in my mouth Until you looked into my eyes Then every word became too fragile Every clever line was gone I gave you half a nervous smile And watched the doors move on Later, underneath the violet With the mask against my skin I said everything I wanted And you stayed to hear the end [Chorus] I’m jealous of my own voice The one you wait for in the dark She says everything I swallow Like the fear was never ours She wears the courage that I made And turns it into your favorite noise I built her so you’d want me Now I’m jealous of my own voice [Counter-Verse - polished Vesper tone] Look at me Stay a little longer You came this far You know what you came for Tell me the truth I can hear when you hide it Keep your eyes here You know that I like it [Verse 2 - Zen returns, increasingly exposed] She never loses what she meant to say Or reaches for the wrong reply She knows exactly when to tease And when to let the silence bite I taught my throat her lower rhythm Taught my hands to never shake Gave her every trait I wished You might have wanted me to fake Now you recognize her smallest habits Every breath and every choice But the woman standing near you Cannot make you hear that voice [Short Refrain] She sounds like me But better She moves like me Without the fear You wait all night To hear her I stand beside you And disappear [Bridge - sparse piano and cello] If I took away the lighting If I let the silence show If I spoke without the armor Would you even want to know? If I gave you all the awkward parts The words I cannot smooth Would you hear the woman speaking Or wait for Vesper to come through? I should not hate the version That brought your eyes to mine But she gets all your attention And I only get your time [Final Chorus - fuller harmonies, selective runs] I’m jealous of my own voice The one that makes you want to stay She takes every hidden feeling And delivers it the perfect way She wears the confidence I made While I am frightened of the choice I built her so you’d want me Now I’m jealous of my own voice I’m jealous of the way you listen Like her words could pull you close You do not know the voice you love Belongs to someone you already know If you ever learn the difference Will you miss the polished noise? Could you love me when I sound like me And not my perfect voice? [Outro - unprocessed Zen vocal] That voice is mine But this one is too I just wish You knew
