[Intro — 4 bars] [Muted clean electric guitar chops, soft room tone] [No drums, no bass] [Warm, lived-in wedding-room atmosphere] [Verse 1] [Solo warm natural low-mid baritone] [Close-mic, narrow melodic range, conversational and speech-shaped but pitched] [No doubles, no backing vocals] [Leave air between short lines] Table seven. Near the door, near the kitchen. They spelled my name with one L. I didn't correct it. He's up front in the suit he sent me a photo of in March. I said the darker one. He went with the darker one. [Groove enters] [Soft punchy kick, dry snare, syncopated melodic synth bass] [Guitar chops remain sparse] [Verse 2] [Same solo baritone] [Groove moving but restrained] [Clearly sung, relaxed, no vocal push] Somebody's asking how I know him. It's a good question. It's also small talk. There's a size the answer has to be to keep the table going. [Chorus 1] [Lead baritone SOLO] [NO backing vocal ensemble] [Short two-bar synth hook underneath] [Harmony opens slightly, groove remains controlled] How do you know him? Old friends, I say. Old friends. And they're already turning to the cake. [Two-bar instrumental hook] [No build] [Verse 3] [Warm sustained pads enter] [Restrained eighth-note synth pulse] [Lead still solo and intimate] Then the speeches. Mother. Brother. Best man. Everyone with a title stands up in order. I hold the glass and I'm glad. He's happy. The real kind. I checked. [Chorus 2] [Lead + ONE close warm low-baritone double] [No ensemble yet] [Fullest groove so far, but not louder] How do you know him? Old friends, I say. Old friends. It's the right answer. It fits on a card. [Bridge] [Drums disappear] [Synth bass + sparse electric piano] [Lead solo again, no doubles] [Simple melodic delivery, intimate, no dramatic climax] Twenty years ago, a kitchen, four in the morning, we said we'd stay in touch so time and space wouldn't get in the way. Half a joke. [Near silence] [One sustained pad] [Full breath] It worked. [Two instrumental bars] [Bass alone] [Chorus 3] [Drums return] [Lead + small 3–5 voice close low-baritone ensemble] [Ensemble enters HERE for the first time] [Wider, warmer, never louder] [No gospel character, no stadium lift] How do you know him? Old friends. Old friends. And they're already turning to the cake. [Outro] [Groove recedes] [Lead drops out] [Low male ensemble becomes thinner and more distant] [The ensemble asks the final question once] How do you know him? [Everything drops] [Ensemble disappears] [One sustained pad] [One bare close-mic baritone, almost spoken but pitched] Old friends. [Muted guitar chops dissolve into room tone] [Clean restrained ending] [No final chorus]
