[Intro] Come in before the rain begins. I’ve left the light on. Come on in. [Verse 1 | Close vocal | Crooked, gentle 7/8] Under the tracks was a narrow door: WE BUY WHAT YOU CAN’T BEAR ANYMORE. I laid my sorrow on the silver tray; The scales sank down when I said her name. “The whole of it, please. Every sleepless night. The sound of her steps when she isn’t here.” He folded my tears like a Sunday coat And pulled one thread from the back of my throat. [Pre-Chorus | Rhythm falls away | Bright, strangely empty] The sun came up. The kettle sang. I slept until the morning came. But her coat still hung beside the door. It could have belonged to anyone. [Chorus | Flowing 6/8 | Wide, aching melody] Give me the tears back— There’s somebody in them. Give me the rain With her voice coming through. I brought you my heart And I asked you to mend it. You took out the pain— And her melody too [Instrumental | Cimbalom repeats the unfinished opening melody] [Verse 2 | Return to 7/8 | Growing urgency] From a shelf in the dark, came a thin silver tune, Somebody singing the way she used to One note too high, then a laugh halfway through— A sound I remembered from songs long ago I reached for the jar. He reached for the lid. “You asked me for silence.” “I didn’t want this!” My hand on the glass couldn’t loosen its grip. [Chorus | 6/8 | Firmer, more urgent] Give me the tears back— There’s somebody in them. Give me the rain With her voice coming through. I brought you my heart And I asked you to mend it. You took out the pain— And her melody too [Bridge | Bare voice | One sustained note grows underneath] Keep all your gold. Just give me the tears. I can't lose her twice For a moment of peace He twisted the brass. As he handed it back. The seal was broken, The glass had a crack. [Mother’s refrain | Warm, unprocessed, slightly imperfect] Come in before the rain begins. I’ve left the light on. Come on in. [Instrumental Release | Broken vocal fragments become a small human choir] [Euphonium takes up the mother’s melody] [Final Chorus | Same melody, warmer harmony | Mother’s refrain underneath] Give me the tears back— There’s somebody in them. Give me the rain With her voice coming through. I brought you my heart And I asked you to mend it. You took out the pain— And her melody too [Outro | One imperfect note, left untouched] Come in before the rain begins. I’ve left the light on. Come on in. [End] Come on in.
