[Verse 1 - deep warm bass and restrained live drums; vocal is conversational and smooth, almost careful about admitting what she wants] I know what it feels like to be wanted when there’s room for me to stay. To be loved in all the easy moments, then somehow still come second anyway. I’ve gotten good at understanding. Good at saying, “I don’t mind.” Good at making disappointment look a little more like being kind. But sometimes I wonder what it would feel like not to have to be that good. [Refrain - rhythm pulls back; muted Rhodes and guitar remain, vocal softer and more exposed] I don’t want to be the almost. The maybe. The one you love when nothing else gets in the way. I just want to know what it feels like to be chosen without having to wait. [Chorus - drums widen and bass deepens; melody becomes fuller with long sustained phrases rather than a large volume jump] I want to be your first choice, not the one you get around to. Not the person you remember when there’s nobody else beside you. I want someone to look at me and never have to weigh the rest. Not because I’m better. Not because I earned it. Just because I’m who they want the best. For once, I want to know what it feels like to come first. [Verse 2 - groove returns warmer; delivery is flowing and quietly self-aware] Maybe that sounds selfish when I say it out loud. I’ve spent so long making space for people, I don’t know how to ask for some now. I can love without demanding. I can wait without a scene. I can tell myself that being patient doesn’t mean I’m being unseen. But there’s a difference between being loved and knowing someone would choose you. And I think I want that too. [Post-Chorus - bass continues under sparse percussion; restrained lyrical harmonies echo only key written lines] Choose me first. Not after. Not eventually. Not when everything else has had its turn. Choose me first. Not because I’m hurting. Just because I matter enough to be considered first. [Bridge - atmospheric guitar slowly spreads while the drums remain subdued; vocal becomes rawer, but never accusatory] I don’t need to be the center of somebody’s world. I don’t need every answer to be me. I just want to stop wondering if I’ll always be the person everyone loves but nobody really needs. I want the kind of love that doesn’t make me compete with everything around it. Where choosing me isn’t some grand sacrifice. It’s simply what feels right. [Final Chorus - full organic groove returns; lead vocal is stronger and warmer, with restrained sustained harmonies] I want to be your first choice, not the one you get around to. Not the person you keep loving while something else keeps coming before you. I want someone to look at me and know where they want to be. Not because I’m perfect. Not because I proved it. Just because they chose me. For once, I want love without wondering where I stand. I want somebody to reach for me because I was their first thought. Not their last chance. [Coda - drums fall away; warm bass and guitar linger, vocal quiet and uncomplicated] Maybe that’s all I’ve ever wanted. Not everything. Not always. Just once, to know what it feels like to be chosen first.
