[Intro] Na - na - na - nah — Low light moved slowly through the glass — I let the silence enter first — Mmmmmmmh — [Verse 1] I kept your name behind my teeth and gave the room a softer word Pressed the tremor from the napkin, made each sentence wait its turn I cut the night to serving size and set it neatly by the plate By the time the first course came, the damage knew which fork to use [Pre-Chorus] I took the fingerprints from memory Left every useful fact in place They love a truth that holds its posture And never makes them move a chair [Chorus] Swallow — I cut the truth to serving size, kept every hard part out of view Swallow — they praised the way it went down easy, never asked what I removed They called it healing; I let them. No one had to move a chair I made the truth easy to swallow. It kept its teeth inside of me [Verse 2] I gave the wound correct grammar, took the stutter from its mouth Moved the blame into the passive till no subject could be found I served the cause without the person, the consequence without the scene They praised the clean construction; no one asked who had been cut out [Pre-Chorus 2] I let each action stand unattended Let every verb arrive alone They could praise the clean arrangement With no one standing in the frame [Chorus] Swallow — I cut the truth to serving size, kept every hard part out of view Swallow — they praised the way it went down easy, never asked what I removed They called it healing; I let them. No one had to move a chair I made the truth easy to swallow. It kept its teeth inside of me [Instrumental 16 bars] Na - na - na - nah Mmmmmmmmh [Bridge] You thought the knife had lost its purpose because it rested by the plate You thought good posture meant surrender; I was only learning how to wait You mistook the pause for mercy, mistook composure for relief It had only learned the manners I had taught the rest of me [Final-Chorus] Swallow — now the sentence has a subject, and the subject has your name Swallow — watch the room adjust its posture though the table stays the same You called it healing; keep saying it. The word goes soft around the facts I made the truth easy to swallow. Then I put your name back in [Outro] No glass broke No voice rose The linen stayed immaculate I put your name back in The room lost its appetite
