[Intro | 8 bars; buoyant pop-punk, palm-muted guitars, agile bass and crisp drums; friendship melody traded between guitar and synth] [Verse 1: Narrator | 16 bars; nimble sung narration, playful guitar stops and short synth replies; affectionate humour] Dart tried a speech from a romantic movie, Waited where the orchestra came in. Tristan answered in the villain's accent. Dart laughed too, then tried the speech again. He changed a sonnet till it mentioned coffee, Picked a song to play when Tristan ate. Tristan thought the joke was getting better. Dart was busy calling it a date. [Pre-Chorus 1: Narrator | 8 bars; guitars open out, rising bass line; let curiosity carry the melody] He watched a couple laughing in an interview, Then read a poem twice to get the sense. Their evenings had the teasing and the laughter; He couldn't see what made them only friends. [Chorus 1: Narrator and ensemble | 12 bars; buoyant melodic hook, broad guitar chords and warm harmonies; hopeful delivery] Love in translation, From the movies to their room. Every borrowed declaration Felt as if he'd made it new. He kept adding songs to their evening, Hoping one would give the rest away. [Post-Chorus | 4 bars; guitar and synth exchange the full friendship melody; short drum fill into the verse] [Verse 2: Narrator | 16 bars; reduce the synth replies as Dart becomes sincere; guitars gradually sustain, drums grow less busy] Dart put away the speeches and the sonnets, Let the playlist finish on its own. He told him why he waited for the evenings, Why he hated being left alone. No quotation came to make it funny; No impression offered an excuse. Tristan waited for the usual punchline. Dart was waiting for an answer too. [Pre-Chorus 2: Narrator | 4 bars; descending bass, sparse guitar; hold a brief instrumental pause before the next section] Tristan tried to place the change in manner. Dart mistook the careful pause for hope. [Turning Point: Narrator | 8 bars; half-time drums, restrained picked guitar and bass; direct, steady singing without ensemble harmonies] Tristan said their friendship mattered. He wasn't in love with him. He hadn't meant their evenings as a promise; He wanted them to carry on as friends. [Chorus 2: Narrator | 12 bars; same vocal contour over E minor harmony; half-time backbeat, sustained guitars and subdued synth] Love in translation, With the question finally heard. Tristan offered him their friendship; Dart could hardly bear the word. He had brought him something he'd been proud of; Now he wished he'd kept it to himself. [Bridge: Narrator | 8 bars; close sung delivery, picked guitar and low bass; percussion recedes, leave space after each line] Tristan heard an error in the learning, Something in the program to discuss. Dart had tried to say how much he loved him. Now he had to argue that he could. [Instrumental | 8 bars; friendship melody on solitary guitar, then synth; retain the original notes over melancholy chords, with increasingly spacious accompaniment] [Final Chorus: Narrator and restrained ensemble | 12 bars; full guitars return over half-time drums; sorrowful intensity, harmonies enter late] Love in translation, With the question finally heard. Tristan meant it when he offered friendship; Dart could hardly bear the word. He kept searching for a better explanation, As if better words could change the answer. [Coda: Narrator | 8 bars; picked guitar, bass and quiet synth; intimate delivery, percussion withdraws] Tristan left their usual movie ready; Dart knew he was still welcome there. He couldn't make that fit beside the answer. The film stayed paused; he hadn't said a word. [Outro | 4 bars; friendship melody once at its original rhythm over E minor add9; guitar sustains, gentle decay]
