[Intro — spoken, barely above a whisper, low piano drone, 🕯️ Low and slow… it's Monty Lowe. [Hook — almost whispered, piano ostinato, heartbeat kick, sub underneath] I talk everybody down, I'm everybody's ledge Nobody ever asked what's keepin' me from the edge I pick up every time, I'm the calm inside they head Who they gon' call for me? …guess I'll answer myself instead [Verse 1 — half-spoken, shaky, breath before every line, piano and sub only] Three in the mornin', phone buzzin', look down, it's my cousin Said he been goin' through it, same three sad songs on a loop, can't lose it Got his gun loaded up, sittin' there thinkin' 'bout usin' it Said he tired of losin', swear he really can't do it Wanna quit boozin', keep apologizin' for wakin' me up Got his wife and his dog and he don't wanna lose 'em [Beat stops] So I ask him what the dog name. He laugh. Say "Pepper." I say put it in the trunk. I'll wait. I ain't goin' nowhere. [Beat returns, heartbeat kick] Heard the door, heard the keys, heard him breathin' all heavy He come back like "it's done," I said "bet… you ready?" Ain't sleep. Watched the ceilin' fan spin till the alarm went Clocked in like nothin' happened. Nobody asked how my night went. [Hook — staccato strings and timpani build, voice straining, cracks on "edge" and "instead"] I talk everybody down, I'm everybody's ledge Nobody ever asked what's keepin' me from the edge I pick up every time, I'm the calm inside they head Who they gon' call for me? …guess I'll answer myself instead [Verse 2 — second voice, warmer and higher, low cello pulsing, tension holding] I don't remember half the shit I said that night Just remember he ain't hang up, kept me talkin' 'bout the dog Pepper sleep across my feet now, wife say I'm laughin' again Went to two meetings, skipped the third, went back the fourth Posted us at the cookout, caption said "real ones only" Got a hundred likes, he ain't even comment Never called to ask him what that night cost him I just figured he was good… he always sound good. [Break — beat cuts out completely, phone rings twice in an empty room, then silence] [Verse 3 — lead voice back, close mic, holding back tears, piano alone] If I told 'em how I'm really doing, that's a 48-hour hold Stuck up in the psych ward, never going home If I told 'em I was crying five minutes 'fore he called — Heard it ring. I hit the sink and washed it off So I answer… then I pause. [Distorted cello and drums crash back in] So I answer when they call, take that bad juju Talk 'em through they mood till it soothe they soul While mine cracking, but I hide it so they don't know Had a few highs, but way too many lows [Bridge — spoken, broken, long pauses, drums out, low strings drone] Everybody got a person. I'm just somebody's person. That ain't the same thing. [Final Hook — lead breaking, stacked background harmonies answer every dropped word, full strings and pounding drums] I talk everybody… (down) I'm everybody's… (ledge) Nobody ever… (asked) what's keepin' me… (from the edge) [single-word drag] (guess I'll answer myself) …instead. [Outro — spoken, exhausted, everything falls away to one piano note] Low and slow… it's Monty Lowe.
