[All brackets are production cues only; do not sing] [Close-mic British female vocal] [Studio recording; lyric clarity first] [No vocal filler] [Short intro; voice enters quickly] [Begin extremely intimate] [Let cosmic scale enter around the human, not overwhelm them] [Important lines breathe] [Intro] [Near silence; audible breath] One breath [brief pause] In all this space. [Verse 1] [Sparse piano; soft human pulse] One body underneath the stars One lifetime passing through A universe beyond my measure And here I am in view Galaxies beyond my counting Ancient light still travelling on Everything I've ever known Beneath A single sun. [Pre-Chorus] [First harmonic opening] I used to think that being smaller Meant that I must matter less [brief silence] But scale can tell me what I measure Not what anything Is worth. [Chorus] [Warm rhythm enters; intimate emotional lift] PALE HUMAN Standing underneath it all PALE HUMAN So impossibly small But small is only scale It doesn't tell me what I mean [brief subtraction] A single human lifetime Can still contain A universe of being. [Verse 2] [Deeper bass; gentle forward movement] I can look thirteen billion years Towards light from long ago Then turn towards another face And find A world I do not know Every mind contains perspectives Every life a different view No telescope can ever show me What it feels like To be you. [Pre-Chorus 2] [Rhythm thins; voice closer] Maybe wonder isn't only What I find beyond the sky [brief silence] Maybe one extraordinary mystery Is standing By my side. [Chorus] [Fuller warmth; never anthemic] PALE HUMAN Standing underneath it all PALE HUMAN So impossibly small But small is only scale It doesn't tell me what I mean One brief human lifetime Can hold more Than can be seen. [Bridge] [Beat disappears] [Voice almost alone] One breath [long breath] One heartbeat [brief silence] One chance To be here. [Warm low note] I don't need the universe To notice me [brief pause] For me To notice it. [long silence] And I don't need To be enormous To matter While I'm here. [Hold before music returns] [Instrumental Rise] [Human warmth expands into cosmic field] [Let intimacy become the source of scale] [Final Chorus] [Strongest emotional lift; harmony rather than volume] PALE HUMAN Standing underneath it all PALE HUMAN Wonderfully small The universe is vast And still I get to see [brief subtraction] For one extraordinary lifetime It is looking back Through me. [Final Refrain] [Arrangement begins falling away] One human [breath] One lifetime [breath] One small window Onto everything. [Outro] [Return to opening breath and piano] I looked up [long pause] And found I was here. [No further vocal] [Let final harmony remain suspended]
