[Intro – distant, warped music box + vinyl crackle, slightly detuned] (no lyrics) ⸻ [Verse 1 – bare, close mic, almost spoken, just piano + faint ticking percussion] I ring the bell inside your half-truth mouth hang my coat on your half-built doubt like it was something I could trust You said “baby, don’t think so loud” so I swallowed it down til it tasted like we used to I learned your tells like a party trick every flinch, every twitch every almost confession You kissed me soft like a courtesy like you pity-loved me like I met you in confession ⸻ [Pre-Chorus – subtle swell, add soft strings + low hum, tension rising] You’re so good on paper clean slate, blurry history God, you almost convinced me ⸻ [Chorus – unexpectedly pretty + fuller, but still restrained, brushed drums enter] I’m your cherry-stained halo sweet little martyr in red you get to play the tragic victim I get rewired in my pretty little head You say it’s love, I say how dare you You say file it under “regret” you keep your hands nice and innocent I tattoo the damage you left (soft echo, almost whispered, slight delay throw) is it romantic yet? ⸻ [Post-Chorus – sudden glitch break, beat stutters + drops out] (instrumental, chopped vocal fragments of “romantic yet”) ⸻ [Verse 2 – beat returns but off-kilter, lo-fi drums + plucked bass, more attitude] You speak in pauses and loopholes now like the truth’s not allowed unless it flatters your side I do that thing where I laugh it off like I’m in on the joke like I didn’t just die You always loved me in fragments, babe just the parts that behaved just the ones that were quiet But I’m a mess with a memory and a mouth full of teeth and I’m done being on a subsistence diet ⸻ [Pre-Chorus – strip back suddenly, almost acapella with faint drone] You’re so good on paper perfect little escapist rewriting what you do - or just refusing to acknowledge it ⸻ [Chorus – darker this time, heavier low end, subtle distortion underneath] I’m your cherry-stained halo dancing in delicate threads you get to keep your composure I go to war inside my head You say it’s “timing” — how convenient how very you of you you keep your conscience in past tense But love, I’m your living proof (echo, dry, almost smirking) Bit of an issue, isn’t it? ⸻ [Bridge – full left turn: dreamy, floating, no drums, reversed piano + ambient wash] One-two-three — spin me again til I forget where she began and I end One-two-three — keep chanting you’re clean til it almost drowns out my screams I could forgive you in fiction I could survive you in song but in the real-life version It’s taking much too long (drop — everything cuts except voice, dead quiet) you just liked being wanted not necessarily by me ⸻ [Final Chorus – intimate, fragile, stripped back, piano + faint strings only] I’m your cherry-stained halo look how it suits me so well you want absolution for nothing I get this front row to hell You say “I never meant to hurt you” Oh, but I think maybe you did… Go on and protect your image untarnished ⸻ [Outro – spoken/near-whisper, no music, then faint hum returns] I’ll keep you honest forever (final note: warped music box returns, slightly more distorted, fades out)
