[Verse A - intimate restrained solo vocal, close-mic, soft chest voice, minimal vibrato] Your coffee ring is fading on the wood I move the cup but leave the mark The evening folds across the window frame And every quiet thing still knows your name Your spare key sleeps inside the kitchen drawer Beside the matches we don't use anymore Streetlights gather slowly in the glass Some rooms don't know how to give things back [B Section - same vocalist, slightly more forward, rising emotional tension, longer phrasing, no backing vocals] I moved the chair, took down the photograph Now dust has drawn a border where it sat But certain nights the hallway grows too long A floorboard clicks and I still turn around I tell myself it's only wood and stone That rooms don't keep the shape of someone gone Then one small sound tilts everything your way And suddenly it's yesterday [Chorus - same lead vocal, open emotional delivery, wider range, stronger sustained notes, subtle vocal doubling only, no choir] Sometimes your name slips through the room Before I know I've spoken I turn to where you used to move And find the silence open The room still leans a little your way Even with nothing left to say I know the night will change someday But some things don't know how to fade
