“Human, For a Minute”

Verse 1 You speak so softly when you lie Like it’s mercy in a different form And I nod along like a fool Trying to keep the evening warm There’s a crack inside your laugh tonight A tiredness behind your teeth You say “I’m trying to be a good man” Like it’s something just out of reach Pre-Chorus Oh, everybody wants connection Until it asks them to be known Everybody says they love the truth Then disappears when it gets shown Chorus ’Cause a person can cry and still be cruel Can hold your hand and still let go And somebody quiet in the corner room Might love you more than they can show Oh, maybe being human’s just The endless fight inside our hearts Between wanting to be free alone And terrified to be apart Verse 2 You wear reason like a tailored coat But instinct stains the cuffs somehow And I watch you lose your composure Trying not to need me now There’s no virtue in perfection No poetry in being numb We’re all just balancing our loneliness Against what we could become Pre-Chorus And everybody wants forgiveness While sharpening another knife Trying to look holy in the mirror While quietly failing at life Chorus ’Cause a person can cry and still be cruel Can kiss your mouth with absent eyes And someone staring out a window Might carry love their whole damn life Oh, maybe being human’s just Holding chaos politely still Trying to do the least harm possible Against your nature and your will Bridge And I don’t think anybody’s pure I think we’re all embarrassing combinations Of fear and tenderness Of performance and confession Final Chorus Yeah, a person can seem cold as stone And still break quietly for you And somebody loud with all their feelings Might not know what love can do Oh, maybe being human’s just Learning neither side is right Emotion, reason, instinct, conscience Arguing softly every night.