[Intro] [VERSE 1] Everybody loves the sound Of their own voice coming back around. They ask me how I've been, then wait For their turn to elaborate. I know the pause, I know the cue, The little breath before they steer right into you. My story barely leaves my tongue Before yours has already begun. [VERSE 2] You bring the same old wound each week, Same bad choice, same autopsy. I hand you truth, you hand it back, Then take the same familiar track. Advice is only welcome when It tells you, "Do it all again." So now I save my common sense You never wanted consequence. [Instrumental 2 bars] [PRE-CHORUS] And I nod in all the proper places, Learn the names, remember faces. Funny how I'm always found By people who don't hear a sound. [CHORUS] You're not listening You're waiting to speak. You come here for answers You don't intend to keep. I give you my silence, You fill it for free. Everybody needs somebody And everybody needs me. But when it's my turn, There's nothing to say. I've gotten so use to listening I gave my voice away. [VERSE 3] And once in a while somebody stays, Asks what I meant, not just what I say. They leave a silence meant for me No interruption, no referee. And suddenly I lose the thread, Turn the question back instead. I trained the world to let me be The ear and not the history. [Interlude] [BRIDGE] Maybe I made myself this chair, This quiet place that's always there. Maybe being needed felt Safer than asking to be felt. And what could you tell me anyway? I've heard your answers every day. You're asking me to trust advice From someone drowning from a worser vice. [PRE-CHORUS] Still you call when nights get long, Because I know where you went wrong. You don't need truth, you need relief A willing ear for borrowed grief. [CHORUS] You're not listening You're waiting to speak. You come here for answers You don't intend to keep. I give you my silence, You fill it for free. Everybody needs somebody And everybody needs me. But when it's my turn, There's nothing to say. I've gotten so use to listening I gave my voice away. [BREAKDOWN] So talk. Tell me everything again. The one who left. The job you hate. The same mistake. The same old friend. I'll know exactly when to nod, Exactly when to say, "My God." And you'll go home a little light While I carry you another night. [FINAL CHORUS] You're not listening You're waiting to speak. You come here for answers You don't intend to keep. I give you my silence, You fill it for free. Everybody needs somebody And everybody needs me. And when it's my turn, I'll smile and say, "I'm fine." Then ask another question And hand you back the time. Maybe I had something Worth hearing anyway But I've gotten so use to listening I don't know what I'd say. [OUTRO] Everybody loves a listener. Everybody loves an open door. Nobody asks what silence costs When they've never paid before.
