[Intro — female, Hindi, over tanpura drone] ठहरो ज़रा Thehro zara Wait a moment नाम मत दो Naam mat do Don’t name it yet अभी नहीं Abhi nahin Not yet [Beat enters] ⸻ [Verse 1 — male, English] A word leaves your mouth And changes in the air By the time it reaches me I’ve already put something there A memory A warning A shape I recognize You gave me half a sentence I supplied the other side [Female refrain] जो सुना Jo suna What I heard जो कहा Jo kaha What you said एक नहीं Ek nahin Not the same ⸻ [Hook — alternating] Male: Before the meaning lands Before I call it true Female: ठहरो ज़रा Thehro zara Wait a moment Male: Before I turn your silence Into something about you Female: अभी नहीं Abhi nahin Not yet Together: There is what you said There is what I heard And something moving In between the words Before the meaning lands Leave it open in your hands ⸻ [Verse 2 — female, Hindi / English] चेहरा बदला Chehra badla Your face changed मैंने कारण चुन लिया Maine kaaran chun liya I chose the reason तुम चुप रहे Tum chup rahe You stayed quiet मैंने उत्तर सुन लिया Maine uttar sun liya I heard an answer Male: Maybe you were thinking Maybe you were tired Maybe all the smoke I saw Came from my own fire Female: मन खाली जगह भरता है Man khaali jagah bharta hai The mind fills empty spaces Male: And calls the filling evidence ⸻ [Hook] Before the meaning lands Before I call it true ठहरो ज़रा Thehro zara Before I make your silence Into something about you अभी नहीं Abhi nahin There is what you said There is what I heard And something moving In between the words Before the meaning lands Leave it open in your hands ⸻ [Instrumental — sarod / sitar over heavy trip-hop break] [Chopped vocals] नाम मत दो Naam mat do Don’t name it अभी नहीं Abhi nahin Not yet नाम मत दो Naam mat do [Male, low] Not yet Not yet ⸻ [Verse 3 — male] The first story comes quickly The second takes its time The first one feels like instinct The second asks me why Why that look meant anger Why that pause meant leave Why the thing I feared the most Became the thing I believed [Female response] पहला अर्थ Pehla arth The first meaning अंतिम नहीं Antim nahin Is not the last Male: The mind loves an ending Female: सच धीरे आता है Sach dheere aata hai Truth comes slowly ⸻ [Bridge — beat thins to tabla, bass and drone] Male: I don’t have to doubt everything To question what I know Female: हर उत्तर गलत नहीं Har uttar galat nahin Not every answer is wrong Male: I just need a little distance Between the signal and the story Female: देखो फिर Dekho phir Look again Male: Hear it again Female: पूछो फिर Poochho phir Ask again Together: Let the meaning move Before you make it stay ⸻ [Final Hook — layered, hypnotic] Before the meaning lands Before I call it true ठहरो ज़रा Thehro zara Before I make your silence Into something about you अभी नहीं Abhi nahin There is what you said There is what I heard There is what I brought To every single word Before the meaning lands Before the story closes ठहरो ज़रा Thehro zara Maybe what I know Is only where it started ⸻ [Outro — female, repeated softly] नाम मत दो Naam mat do अभी नहीं Abhi nahin ठहरो ज़रा Thehro zara [Male, distant] Before the meaning lands [Female] देखो फिर Dekho phir Look again
