🪦 The Antidote (beloved loss v3 s4)

⸻ 🎼 “I Need the Antidote (Beloved Loss – V3, Her Voice)” ⸻ [Intro | harp arpeggio | soft glockenspiel | distant bass clarinet | room tone] Your chair still turned toward the window Your paper folded just so on the arm Mud on the mat where you kicked off your boots Quiet where there used to be your calm Oh ⸻ [Verse 1 | harp + low clarinet | light heartbeat pulse] I walk through the rooms like I’m borrowing time Kettle still sings for a cup meant for two Your coat on the hook keeps the shape of your shoulders I reach for it sometimes like I’m reaching for you Your tools on the bench, half a job left undone Your laugh in the hall when the day used to end I keep finding pieces of you in the small things Like you’ll come back and finish them ⸻ [Pre-Chorus | strings swell | breathy clarinet] I used to scold you for the socks on the floor Now I’d leave them there forevermore Every little mess you made Feels like something I can’t replace ⸻ [Chorus | fuller but restrained | harp + strings + soft pad] I need the antidote All of this silence is louder without you I need the antidote You were the strength I was leaning into I need the antidote Ooh ooh I need the antidote Ooh ooh I need the antidote ⸻ [Chant Chorus 1 | stripped | glockenspiel pulse | hollow] Down and out I’m out when I’m down and out I’m not with you, I’m not with you Down and out I’m out when I’m down and out I’m not with you, I’m not with you ⸻ [Instrumental Break | short glockenspiel motif | harp echoes | transition] ⸻ [Verse 2 | minimal | harp + soft piano] I still make enough for the both of us Then wrap it away when the night comes in Your place at the table stays set like a promise I keep even though it’s wearing thin Garden still blooms where you planted the rows Perennials rise like they don’t even know The weeds get ahead and I can’t keep up You were always the one in control ⸻ [Pre-Chorus 2 | stronger swell | strings + clarinet] Family comes and they try to be kind But I see the pity behind their eyes Every story still carries your name Like a voice I can’t set aside ⸻ [Chorus 2 | deeper delivery] I need the antidote All of this silence is louder without you I need the antidote You were the strength I was leaning into I need the antidote Ooh ooh I need the antidote Ooh ooh I need the antidote ⸻ [Chant Chorus 2 | progression] Down and out I’m out when I’m down and out I’m not with you, I’m lost without you Down and out I’m out when I’m down and out I’m not with you, I still miss you ⸻ [Instrumental Solo 1 | bass clarinet lead | low, breathy | harp support] ⸻ [Bridge / Verse 3 | drop to near silence | piano + harp] Your name carved in stone on the hill by the trees With a space left beside where they’ll lay me someday I sit there and talk like you’re just running late And the wind says the things you would say I miss your hands, how they steadied the world How you carried the weight I could not Now the house leans on me and I’m learning too late All the strength that you brought ⸻ [Instrumental Solo 2 | violin + glockenspiel | slow, fading] ⸻ [Final Chorus | widest but controlled | choir pad optional] I need the antidote There’s only your memory holding me steady I need the antidote And time doesn’t make this any less heavy I need the antidote Ooh ooh I need the antidote Ooh ooh I need the antidote ⸻ [Outro Chant | shortened | soft, accepting] Down and out I’m out when I’m down and out I’m not with you, I still feel you Down and out I’m out when I’m down and out I’m not with you, I’m still loving you ⸻ [Final Line | close, quiet] You were the antidote ⸻