[Verse 1 – intimate, drifting, behind the beat] [close, breathy] Shall I frame you— like a summer afternoon Somehow softer… than the light that fills the room Weather shifts— and all the colors start to bleed [small catch] Nothing beautiful… stays long past the seed [Pre-Chorus – tension, restrained] [quieter, tightening] I try to hold it where it was— but it slips it always slips [Chorus – open, strained, rising] [strained, emotional lift] But you don’t faaaade when the days grow loooong You don’t bend— when the shadows stretch thin Time can push— [voice cracks] but it can’t undo what’s wroooong With what we drew… where the tide pulled in [Verse 2 – conversational, imperfect flow] [loose, reflective] Sun cracks the porch— or just slips away [small pause] Every perfect thing… it forgets how to stay Chance—or time— or the weight of those years Leaves its marks… in the sand, in the skin— [quieter] in the piers [Chorus 2 – bigger, less controlled] [more force, slight rasp] No—you don’t diiiim when the seasons turn You don’t break under all of that weight Let the hourglass run— let the candles buuuurn [push harder] We’re caught in the pull— but it’s never too late [Bridge – stripped → swell] [drop instrumentation, very close] Still… you live in the lines I leave In the moments— [breath] that carry through [gradual swell] Long as someone hears this voice— [hold] it keeps pulling me… back to you [Final Chorus – peak, imperfect, breaking] [full voice, strained] ’Cause you don’t faaaade— no, you don’t faaaade [ad lib overlap encouraged] Through the long, long days… Time can push— but it won’t take you away [voice breaking] It all runs back— it all runs back to you [Outro – quiet, resolved] [soft, worn] Ink keeps changing… across the page But the pulse— [it beats, grounded] it beats it through As long as the trees keep swaying… [slow, fading] there’s a road… that runs back to you
