[ATMOSPHERIC INTRO — INSTRUMENTAL ONLY, ATMOSPHERIC PIANO, SHIMMERING SYNTHS, NO LEAD VOCALS] --- [VERSE 1 — WARM, DELICATE CHEST VOICE, INTIMATE AND REFLECTIVE] I take the long way past the corner store Where midnight used to spill across the floor The crossing signal paints the pavement green And for a second, I'm seventeen A bus exhales beneath the sodium glow I watch it carry faces I once knew --- [PRE-CHORUS — AIRY LIFT, RESTRAINED EMOTION GRADUALLY OPENING] Every block returns a different name I don't have to keep them to remember The city fades behind the glass But something in me keeps its shape --- [CHORUS — SOARING, FLUID MELODY, HOPEFUL INTENSITY] I'll trace this city one last time Past every place that made me mine Let the streets keep what I can't carry Let the years fall softly behind me I was someone different at every turn And I can leave without taking her with me (Ooh) Tomorrow starts beyond these lights (Ahh) --- [LIQUID DNB INSTRUMENTAL — FLUID BREAKBEATS, DEEP ROLLING BASS, ATMOSPHERIC PIANO, SHIMMERING SYNTHS] --- [VERSE 2 — WARMER, MORE CONFIDENT DELIVERY, GENTLE FORWARD MOTION] The laundromat still flickers after two The same blue pharmacy sign cuts through A rooftop holds the shape of younger nights Where we counted airplanes passing white I pass the station where I learned to wait And hear that younger voice without regret --- [CHORUS — FULLER, SOARING BUT CONTROLLED, AIRY HARMONIES] I'll trace this city one last time Past every place that made me mine Let the streets keep what I can't carry Let the years fall softly behind me I was someone different at every turn And I can leave without taking her with me (Ooh) Tomorrow starts beyond these lights (Ahh) --- [BRIDGE — BREATHY FALSETTO, EMOTIONAL AND WEIGHTLESS, LONG SUSTAINED PHRASES] If I stop beneath the final streetlight I can hear all my old footsteps (Remember) Not asking me to turn around Only reminding me I was here (Remain) Then the first train opens its doors And I step into what I haven't been --- [FINAL CHORUS — SOARING, EXPANSIVE, HOPEFUL RELEASE, LAYERED FALSETTO HARMONIES] I'll trace this city one last time (Ooh) Past every place that made me mine (Ahh) Let the streets keep what I can't carry And let the years fall softly behind me (Still here) I was someone different at every turn And I can leave without taking her with me (Ooh) Tomorrow starts beyond these lights (Ahh) I leave with every version alive --- [AMBIENT OUTRO — INSTRUMENTAL ONLY, PIANO DECAY, SOFT STRINGS, REVERSED SYNTH SWELLS, NO LEAD VOCALS]
