[Intro | soft piano | low cello | intimate male vocal | unhurried tempo] [Verse 1 | warm baritone | acoustic guitar and piano | reflective | restrained] I knew you before I knew your name A quiet room, an old oak chair You left me books without a word And somehow knew what should be there I crossed an ocean, grew into A life I never thought I’d lose Then found you standing where you’d been As if the years had passed you by [Pre-Chorus | cello enters | subtle pulse | wonder without accusation] I could have asked you for an answer I could have turned away But some truths need an open door And time enough to stay [Chorus | warm strings | controlled lift | steady male vocal] I don’t need forever I don’t need time to bend Give me what the years allow us Let me know you to the end I have loved and I have lost before I know what leaving costs But I would rather hold this life Than fear the day it’s lost [Verse 2 | acoustic guitar forward | light brushed percussion | conversational warmth] You kept your heart behind the shop In ledgers, locks, and careful names You wore your silence like a coat And called endurance something safe But I saw kindness in the margins In every book you chose to keep In coffee stirred before the leaf Could tell you what you feared to need [Pre-Chorus | piano rises | subtle harmony | gentle insistence] I never wanted all your secrets Only what you chose to share Not every wound needs fixing Some only need someone there [Chorus | fuller strings | restrained drums | emotional expansion] I don’t need forever I don’t need time to bend Give me what the years allow us Let me know you to the end I have loved and I have lost before I know what leaving costs But I would rather hold this life Than fear the day it’s lost [Bridge | piano and cello only | older, softer vocal | intimate] When my hands grow old inside yours And the room begins to dim Don’t turn me into one more door You’re frightened to walk in Keep the work we made together Keep the windows open wide Do not love me by disappearing When I’m no longer by your side [Instrumental Lift | cello swell | subtle strings | gentle heartbeat percussion] [Final Chorus | widest arrangement | layered male harmonies | hopeful restraint] I never asked for forever Only time enough to choose Every morning we were given Every road we dared to use And when the years have taken me Don’t count our love as loss Remember what we built was real Because it had a cost [Outro | piano alone | faint cello | close male vocal | final line whispered] Turn the sign and open Let the morning carry on You were never meant to vanish The road goes on
