WHAT MY FACE WON'T TELL YOU [Intro — sparse oud tremolo, cello drone] [Verse 1 — low, intimate] Put your silver wires upon me, Let them listen to my skin, Count the shadows of a smile, Trace the trembling from within. Watch the corner of my mouth move, Watch my restless eyelids fall, You may catch a thousand signals— But have you understood at all? [Pre-Chorus — violin begins to rise] For a smile can come from sorrow, And a tear can come from joy, And the face becomes a language That the heart can still destroy. [Chorus — full orchestral lift] Read my face— If you think you can, Draw your little lines And tell me who I am. Measure every movement, Name them one by one— Tell me, is this sadness? Or am I hiding from the sun? Read my face— But don't call it my soul, You can measure every piece And never know the whole. There's a world behind these eyes No wire ever traveled through— You can see my face, But my face won't tell you true. [Instrumental — qanun run, violin counterline] [Verse 2] My friend spoke like a miner Digging deserts for a vein, Years beneath the burning sand For one black river in the plain. And I loved his faith in science, Loved the fire behind his eyes, But the deepest wells inside us Don't surrender what they hide. [Pre-Chorus] We can listen to the heartbeat, We can watch the pupils change, But between the sign and meaning There's a wilderness unnamed. [Chorus — stronger, frame drum enters] Read my face— If you think you can, Draw your little lines And tell me who I am. Measure every movement, Name them one by one— Tell me, is this anger? Or a joke I've just begun? Read my face— But don't call it my soul, You can measure every piece And never know the whole. There's a world behind these eyes No wire ever traveled through— You can see my face, But my face won't tell you true. [Instrumental break — oud tremolo / pedal steel swells] [Bridge — stripped down, stumbling 6/8] Then alone inside the elevator, I met myself beneath the light, There was something in my smile I couldn't name or read that night. Was I laughing at the machine? Was I angry with my friend? Was I frightened by the thought That we could measure without end? [Pause — cello only] And then I thought— If I cannot name The storm behind my eyes... How could a machine? [Final Chorus — largest orchestral lift] So read my face— Come as close as you can, Bring your wires and your numbers, Bring the knowledge of man. Measure every movement, Every tremor, every sign— You may map the shore completely And never touch what's mine. Read my face— But leave something unknown, For the heart has secret countries Where it travels all alone. And perhaps the greatest truth Is the one we cannot prove— You can measure how I smile... But not what made me move. [Outro — oud + distant violin] In the elevator mirror That same stranger looked at me... I smiled. And for once I couldn't tell What that smile Was supposed to mean.
