[Technical: 48kHz, No Artifacts] [Intro] [Slow, melancholic RnB beat, soft piano, distant rain] Unopened envelopes on the floor Your handwriting still cuts me to the core Iowa skies, a thousand miles away I keep your letters but I don't know what to say [Verse 1] [male voice, quiet, introspective] Monday morning, coffee's getting cold Reading lines you wrote when we were bold You said the cornfields make you think of me Said you'd come back, but that was make-believe The postmarks fade like promises we kept I trace the ink on nights I haven't slept You drew a heart beside your name in blue I drew the blinds — still couldn't block out you [Pre-Chorus] And I know I should move on But your words keep pulling me along Every letter feels like a loaded gun Honey, what have you done What have you done [Chorus] Letters from Iowa Finding me in the dark Letters from Iowa Paper cuts straight to the heart I keep them in a box beneath my bed Your voice inside my head Letters from Iowa Never letting me go Letters from Iowa Falling through the undertow I read them like a gospel, like a scar Letters from Iowa You're still breaking my heart [Verse 2] [slightly more emotional, beat builds subtly] November, you wrote thirteen pages long Said you were sorry but the distance made you strong Said the midwest winter helped you see things clear Funny how clarity never brought you here I memorized the way you cross your T's The way you say forever like it's easy But easy ain't a word for what we were Just two people drowning in a blur [Pre-Chorus] And I know I should let go But every envelope is all I know Every letter lights the dark and then it burns Baby, when do we learn When do we learn [Chorus] Letters from Iowa Finding me in the dark Letters from Iowa Paper cuts straight to the heart I keep them in a box beneath my bed Your voice inside my head Letters from Iowa Never letting me go Letters from Iowa Falling through the undertow I read them like a gospel, like a scar Letters from Iowa You're still breaking my heart [Bridge] [beat drops to half-time, emotional peak] Maybe I should burn them all tonight Watch the smoke curl up and lose the fight Or maybe I should mail them back to you With a note that says — I'm losing you I'm still losing you You wrote "I love you" on the last one, line fourteen In the margin where the paper creases clean I've read it forty-seven times or more Still don't know what you wrote it for Still don't know what you wrote it for [Outro – Chorus, slower] [vocals fade, rain sound returns] Letters from Iowa Just paper in the dark Letters from Iowa Every word, a falling apart I keep them 'cause they're all I have of you Your ghost in every line Letters from Iowa Gone but never letting go Letters from Iowa Stuck in the undertow I'll read them 'til the ink has turned to dust Letters from Iowa All I've got of us [End]
