[Key: G Major / Mode: Ionian, bridge relative E Aeolian / Chord Progression: Verses G-Bm-C-D (I-iii-IV-V), Chorus C-D-Bm-Em (IV-V-iii-vi), Bridge Em-C-G-D (i-VI-III-VII) / BPM: 106 / Style: Indie Rock, 2000s Post-Punk Revival, Jangle-Pop, British indie / Vocal Identity: Female contralto, resonant chest voice, deadpan monotone verses, gently melodic chorus, dry close-mic, unhurried and wry] [Cold Open and Verse 1: Wry Observant Monotone, 16 bars, G Major, walking bass and voice enter together on the downbeat, clean Telecaster mutes, dry tight drums] The man across the tracks has had a morning worth the telling, you can tell Because his free arm's carving circles in the air as though the call could hear it well He's pacing out a rectangle the size of a parking space With a satchel over his shoulder and a look of scandalised disgrace I'm holding my tea, a transit card, and a memory I haven't found Now, the platform's got a hundred of us standing, soundless... standing round But the silence stretches over rails, so every word he's saying Is a puppet show I'm free to cast, and he's unaware he's playing [Instrumental Tag: Drum Fill] [Chorus: Warm Wry Melodic Lift, 8 bars, G Major, voice rises gently from monotone, jangle guitar opens up, tambourine joins] I can only imagine how you'd start this off Some grand and ruinous announcement, delivered straight-faced, without pause And I'd say "go on, tell me," and we'd build him up from there Giving him a whole life, and a motive, and a reason to care (A reason to care) [Verse 2: Playful Narrative Monotone, 16 bars, G Major, bass walks a little higher, guitar mutes tighten, voice stays deadpan] So I clear my throat in silence and I give it a go alone "The ocean has been cancelled, and the lighthouse isn't home" I mean it as the opener, the sort of thing you'd say And the man across the platform stomps and throws his arms away Like he's answering the lighthouse, or he's finding out the sea Has been renamed in someone else's honour, which is quite a bit to be Dropping on a person on a Tuesday, in the cold, before the day begins And I do the voice I think you'd do, and I can't land it, it's too thin [Instrumental Tag: Drum Fill] [Chorus: Warm Wry Melodic Lift, 8 bars, G Major, identical lyrics, fuller guitar lines, voice slightly more open] I can only imagine how you'd start this off Some grand and ruinous announcement, delivered straight-faced, without pause And I'd say "go on, tell me," and we'd build him up from there Giving him a whole life, and a motive, and a reason to care (A reason to care) [Bridge: Tender Stripped-Back Reveal, 8 bars, E Minor, bass and voice only, guitar drops out, drums fall to soft tambourine, voice slows and softens but stays dry and plain] I used to think the game was just a way of passing time Making up the stories while the cast was ours to find But the people were just props, and I can see that now The game was you and me and what the other would allow Someone to say yes to, and then add a bit more Someone who would build on what I'd said before And I've got plenty of strangers, and the mornings never run out But nobody to hand the line to, and that's what it's about [Instrumental Breath: Catchy Melodic Jangle Guitar Riff, 2 Bars] [Final Chorus: Quietly Radiant, 8 bars, G Major, identical lyrics, full instrumentation returns, voice warmest and most melodic, still dry and close] I can only imagine how you'd start this off, Some grand and ruinous announcement, delivered straight-faced, without pause And I'd say "go on, tell me," and we'd build him up from there Giving him a whole life, and a motive, and a reason to care [Wry Gentle Outro, 4 bars, G Major, deadpan monotone returns, walking bass steady, Vocal Fade] The man tucks away his phone, and the performance comes to an end And the train slides in between us, and I'll never know who was on the other end So I step on board and find a seat and scan the car for someone new And I start the next one out loud... And I leave a space for you (I leave a space for you) [Solo Instrumental Outro, 8 bars, G Major, walking bass and clean guitar mutes, Decrescendo] [Smooth slow fade, clean outro note]
