[Opening Hook - warm bass and muted Rhodes enter immediately; the vocal is low and careful, almost like she has to say it before she changes her mind] Could you hold me first? Before I tell you I’m alright. Before I find somebody else who needs me more tonight. Nothing has to be wrong. Nothing has to hurt. I just want to know I don’t have to break to be held first. [Verse 1 - dry drums and textured guitar settle into a gentle groove; her voice becomes conversational, with a little self-conscious humor] I’m usually better with a reason. A bad day. A sleepless night. Something I can point to so wanting you feels justified. Give me something I can call a crisis and suddenly asking feels allowed. But on an ordinary evening, I don’t know how to say it out loud. I want you close. That’s all. No hidden meaning underneath. And somehow wanting something simple is the hardest thing for me to need. [Chorus - bass deepens and the melody opens into longer phrases; the lead is strong but intimate, with restrained harmonies] Don’t wait until I’m breaking. Don’t make me earn the worst. Before I start taking care of everyone, could you hold me first? Before I say I’m fine. Before I disappear. Choose me while I’m standing, while I’m still right here. I don’t need you to fix me. I just want to learn that I can reach for something gentle before everything hurts. [Verse 2 - groove becomes warmer and slightly more fluid; vocal relaxes as she finally says what she normally hides] I know how easy it is to miss me. I make sure of that myself. I’ll say, “Go ahead, I’m good,” and quietly put what I wanted back up on the shelf. I’ll ask how everybody else is doing. Make sure nobody needs a thing. By the time I finally turn toward myself, there’s barely anything left to give. And I know you cannot read my mind. I know I have to let you know. So tonight I’m trying something new. I’m asking before I let it go. [Refrain - drums pull back to rim clicks and bass; vocal is simple, warm, and direct] Hold me before I’m hurting. Stay close before I ask twice. Love me when nothing is wrong. I want to know I’m worth the time. [Bridge - atmospheric guitar spreads across the mix while the rhythm stays restrained; the vocal begins almost embarrassed and gradually becomes steadier] Maybe I learned somewhere that care should go to whoever needs it most. So I got good at waiting until there was nothing left I could postpone. But love shouldn’t be triage. I shouldn’t have to be the worst one in the room before somebody looks at me and thinks, You. Come here. I’ve got you. [Final Chorus - full organic groove returns; her vocal is warmer and surer rather than louder] So hold me before I’m breaking. Let me ask without the hurt. Before I start taking care of everyone, could you choose me first? Before I say I’m fine. Before I make myself disappear. Choose me while I’m standing, while I can still tell you why I need you here. I don’t need a rescue. I don’t need you to make anything right. I just want to matter on the ordinary days too. Not only on the hardest nights. [Coda - drums fall away, leaving bass, Rhodes, and soft guitar texture; her voice is relaxed now, with no dramatic resolution] Nothing happened today. I’m okay. I just wanted you. And I’m trying to believe that can be enough reason to ask.
