Every Page [Intro — solo piano slow and warm, acoustic guitar bar 4, strings bar 6] [piano slow warm x8] [acoustic guitar bar 4] [strings bar 6 soft] [cymbal brush bar 8] [Verse 1 — female lead intimate, piano and guitar only, no rush] There are things that people do that do not photograph well that do not make a good story at a dinner table that do not trend or get shared or get seen by anybody but the person they were done for Marita Gladson did one of those things For five years she made sure there was always something to read A new world every few weeks arriving like a letter from the part of life that does not stop just because your circumstances did Every page was a door Every chapter was a window Every book was Marita saying without saying it I have not forgotten you are still here you still matter the world is still moving and I am going to make sure you can move with it from wherever you are [Chorus — strings swell, soft kick enters, warm and close] More than words could ever thank more than a song could hold Marita gave what money cannot buy and time cannot replace She gave five years of never forgetting five years of showing up in the quietest way possible and that is the loudest kind of love there is [Verse 2 — warmer, what the books actually meant, no mention of the circumstances] A book is not just a book when it is the thing standing between you and the feeling that the world has moved on without you A book is a conversation with someone who sat down and decided that what they had to say was worth the time it takes to say it And Marita sent that conversation again and again and again for five straight years Never asked what kind Never asked if it was the right one Just kept sending kept showing up kept making sure that no matter what the day looked like there was always a next page to turn to That is not generosity That is devotion That is the kind of care that does not have a word big enough to hold it [Chorus — fuller, strings wider, cymbal brush doubles] More than words could ever thank more than a song could hold Marita gave what money cannot buy and time cannot replace She gave five years of never forgetting five years of showing up in the quietest way possible and that is the loudest kind of love there is [Bridge — full orchestra, French horn enters, the weight of it arrives] Five years is not a gesture Five years is not a kindness Five years is a decision made over and over and over again every time it would have been easier to forget every time life got busy every time something else needed attention Marita chose to remember Marita chose to show up Marita chose the next book and the one after that and the one after that and never made a single moment of it about herself There are people who change your life with loud things Marita Gladson changed a life with pages quietly faithfully without fail for five years That deserves more than a song but a song is what we have so we are going to make it the truest one we know how to build [Final Chorus — choir enters, French horn full, every instrument, full power] MORE THAN WORDS COULD EVER THANK MORE THAN A SONG COULD HOLD MARITA GAVE WHAT MONEY CANNOT BUY AND TIME CANNOT REPLACE FIVE YEARS OF NEVER FORGETTING FIVE YEARS OF SHOWING UP FIVE YEARS OF EVERY PAGE BEING A WAY OF SAYING YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN YOU ARE NOT ALONE YOU STILL MATTER MARITA GLADSON THIS SONG IS THE CLOSEST THING WE HAVE TO THANK YOU AND IT IS NOT CLOSE ENOUGH BUT IT IS EVERYTHING WE HAVE [Outro — choir fades, strings fade, piano alone, one voice, one last line] [choir fades bar 2] [strings fade bar 4] [French horn last note bar 5] [piano and voice alone] Every page was you [piano final phrase slow] [silence] [for Marita]
