I Ride The Almost

[Intro: fragmented, tape hiss, subway rumble under the floor, distant sidewalk voices, one taxi horn far left, piano shard, no full melody] (glitched inhale) (cut) Ride— (cut) Ride the— (horn, far) (fractured vocal: "almost") [Verse 1: morning after, clipped rasp, Japanese-accented English, fluorescent hush, sparse piano, subway approaching then passing] Keep the second mug facing the sink Soft as a habit that outlived its reason Ride the same car past your old building Hold a conversation with the window Count the floors that used to mean evening Leave the extra heat inside the sleeve Still I buy the bread you used to finish Wait for a name the city misspells [Pre-Chorus: analog bass enters, crowd hush under glass] Doors consider me I consider staying [Chorus: infectious, energetic, overlapping stacked low female, liquid drums bloom, 220 Hz chest sustain, distorted guitar halo] I ride the almost (I ride the almost) Like it still collects me (still collects me) Every platform knows my leaning None of them return your weight I ride the almost (I ride the almost) (almost—almost) [Post-Chorus: overlapping chant, metallic hits, faint taxi horn] (Ride it) (Ride it) Keep me moving through the almost [Verse 2: sidewalk noon, smoother power, brighter pad still cold, footsteps and talk as bed] Press through a sidewalk full of borrowed sentences Borrow a laugh that belongs to a couple Pay the crossing while a horn invents weather Lean toward a voice that isn't aimed at me Cross under neon that remembers no one Miss the step where we used to match stride [Pre-Chorus] Doors consider me I consider staying [Chorus] I ride the almost (I ride the almost) Like it still collects me (still collects me) Every platform knows my leaning None of them return your weight I ride the almost (I ride the almost) (almost—almost) [Instrumental Break: fragmented pause one, drums drop, subway rumble swallows the mix, footsteps, overlapping talk fragments, taxi horn, piano shard, glitch stutter, no lead vocal] (cut) (rumble) (wet concrete) (horn) (reverse scrap of "almost") [Verse 3: night car, rasp returns, dark pads, tunnel air, Japanese-accented low chest] Ride until the map forgets its colors Hold the pole like it can answer Count the stations after your absence Leave my reflection on the door glass Still the tunnel keeps your temperature Wait for sense to choose a platform Name the quiet after the last transfer Learn a life that fits a single fare [Bridge: contrast, whisper then belted, overlapping ghost vocal, emotion tight in the throat] But if the next car opens empty I don't owe the route a prayer I can stand here with the leaning And still take up a little air Call the almost by accident It won't stay if you applaud (it won't stay) (if you applaud) [Instrumental Break: fragmented pause two, half-time liquid drums, analog bass growl, subway passing hard, horn smeared against 110 Hz drone, vocal chops only] (chop: "almost") (chop: "stay") (horn) (tape stop) (hit) [Final Chorus: biggest, smooth power over rasp, heavy overlaps, infectious, 220 Hz chest] I ride the almost (I ride the almost) Like it still collects me (still collects me) Every platform knows my leaning None of them return your weight I ride the almost (I ride the almost) Don't— (cut) I ride the almost (almost—almost—almost) [Outro: fragmented, documentary hiss, sidewalk thinning, one last horn blocks away, piano shard] Whoever kept the weather Isn't on this car Whoever kept the weather Left the heat in my collar (whisper) ride the— (glitch) almost [Instrumental Outro: cold pads, analog bass, subway receding, metallic hits thinning, tape hiss rising, city hush] [Fade Out] [End]