[INTRO — DRY MALLET PERCUSSION, MUTED GUITAR, LOW SYNTH, SPARSE KICK] [MALE LEAD ONLY — CLOSE, RESTRAINED] We don't talk now. That's probably right. But silence doesn't mean nothing happened. [VERSE 1 — MALE LEAD ONLY] There are streets I still remember because we walked them. Songs I don't skip, but don't send you. A photograph can stay a photograph without becoming an invitation. We ended. That matters. So did everything before the ending. [PRE-CHORUS — MALE LEAD ONLY] I don't need to hate the past to keep it in the past. [CHORUS — MALE LEAD + MALE HARMONIES] REMEMBER WITHOUT RETURNING! LET IT STAY TRUE! I DON'T HAVE TO COME BACK TO ADMIT THERE WAS A ME WHO LOVED A YOU! REMEMBER WITHOUT RETURNING! CLOSE THE DOOR! DON'T BURN THE HOUSE JUST TO PROVE YOU DON'T LIVE THERE ANYMORE! [PERCUSSION TURN] [VERSE 2 — MALE LEAD ONLY] Some endings need distance. Some numbers should stay deleted. Some apologies arrive too late to reopen anything. A boundary isn't bitterness. Moving on isn't amnesia. I can say: "We were real." And also: "We are done." Both fit in the same sentence. [CHORUS — MALE LEAD + MALE HARMONIES] REMEMBER WITHOUT RETURNING! KEEP THE LINE! I CAN HONOR WHAT WAS GOOD WITHOUT PRETENDING IT IS MINE TODAY! REMEMBER WITHOUT RETURNING! NO REWRITE! THE ENDING DOESN'T GET TO OWN EVERY CHAPTER OF OUR LIFE! [8-BAR INSTRUMENTAL BREAK — MALLETS + BASS + MUTED GUITAR, NO VOCALS] [FEMALE RADIO VOICE ONLY — SPOKEN, CALM, DRY, CLOSE, LIGHT TELEPHONE FILTER, NO SINGING, NO MALE VOICE] I remember too. Some of it was beautiful. Some of it hurt. I don't need to choose one version. I don't need to come back to admit you mattered. And I don't need to erase you to keep walking. [FEMALE VOICE ENDS] [4-BAR INSTRUMENTAL RESET — NO VOCALS] [MALE LEAD RETURNS — LOW, CLEAR] Good. Then maybe we can leave without pretending we were strangers. [VERSE 3 — MALE LEAD ONLY] Memory isn't a contract. Missing someone isn't a command. Regret isn't always a road sign saying: Turn around. Sometimes memory just says: That happened. You changed there. You learned there. You hurt there. You loved there. [PAUSE] And then you kept going. [BRIDGE — SYNTH PAD WIDENS, LIVE DRUMS ENTER] [MALE LEAD ONLY] I won't make you a villain so leaving feels easier. I won't make myself a saint. We were two people with good days, bad habits, blind spots, and an ending. That's enough truth. [FINAL CHORUS — FULL BAND + MALE HARMONIES] REMEMBER WITHOUT RETURNING! LET IT BE! NOT EVERY MEMORY NEEDS A FUTURE TO DESERVE ITS HISTORY! REMEMBER WITHOUT RETURNING! KEEP THE DOOR CLOSED! KEEP THE WINDOW CLEAR! I CAN SEE WHERE I CAME FROM WITHOUT MOVING BACK IN THERE! REMEMBER WITHOUT RETURNING! NO ERASURE! NO DISGUISE! WHAT WAS REAL CAN STAY REAL WITHOUT RUNNING THE REST OF MY LIFE! [FINAL BREAKDOWN — MALE VOICES ONLY] [MALE GROUP] PAST! [MALE LEAD] KEEP IT TRUE. [MALE GROUP] BOUNDARY! [MALE LEAD] KEEP IT TOO. [MALE GROUP] MEMORY! [MALE LEAD] LET IT STAY. [MALE GROUP] RETURN? [MALE LEAD] NOT REQUIRED. [MALE GROUP] DOOR! [MALE LEAD] CLOSED WITH CARE. [OUTRO — MALLETS + MUTED GUITAR, MALE LEAD ONLY] We became people who used to know each other. [PAUSE] That doesn't mean we never did.
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