[Intro - whispered, almost no air, drone only] (whispered) I was safer when it was a wall. [Verse 1 - half time, dry close vocal, low anchor on bar 3] He gave me a number and I went cold from the spine. All this walking at a door, and now I see a line. A wall is something you can lean your whole life against. A number's something you can fail. That's the difference. I have been the patient one. That's the whole of my name. And patience isn't brave when there's nothing left to claim. Now there's something I can lose. I never had that yet. And now I'm standing in this hallway and I'm set. [Pre-Chorus - clipped, percussion out, drone rises] I'm not scared of the door. I'm scared of getting there. I can walk at a wall. I can't walk at a prayer. [Chorus - full voice, still quiet, drone wide] I was safer when it was a wall. I was better at the part that doesn't end. A door you can't open is a place to stand. A number is a thing you have to spend. And I'm out of moves. I spent my last one getting here too fast. [Verse 2 - same restraint, low anchor one phrase per two bars] I do the thing I'm good at, which is nothing at all. I stand still in a hallway with my back to the wall. It looks like I am patient. It looks like I am strong. It's just fear that's holding still. And I've been still that long. Here's the thing about a fear that keeps you in your place: from the outside it is patience. It has the same face. So I let him see the patience. And I keep the rest. It ain't a lie. It's the same man. Just a colder chest. [Pre-Chorus - clipped, percussion out] I'm not scared of the door. I'm scared of getting there. I can walk at a wall. I can't walk at a prayer. [The Crossing - one point six seconds, hard cut both directions, nothing inside it] [Bridge - bare, no reverb, voice and low anchor only] He doesn't need to know what the standing is made of. It holds either way. A bearing works when you mean it. A bearing works when you're scared. That's the only mercy in the whole thing. [Final Chorus - wider, not louder, percussion gone] I was safer when it was a wall. I was better at the part that doesn't end. A door you can't open is a place to stand. A number is a thing you have to spend. And I'm out of moves. I spent my last one getting here too fast. [Outro - bare, the drone alone, unresolved] (whispered) I was safer when it was a wall.
