“The Song Knew Before I Did”

“THE SONG KNEW BEFORE I DID” Vocals performed by 12Gauge858 Written by 12Gauge858 hypnotic Gothic • Alternative R&B • Dark Pop • Cinematic Soul* *Electric blues guitar • Darker cello • Darker violin • Heartbeat 808* INTRO — SPOKEN / CLOSE MIC]** *(Dark felt piano. Low cello beneath one trembling electric-blues guitar note.)* Baaaaby… I almost left this one off the list tonight… Not because I forgot the words. I knew every one of ’em. I just didn’t know they were telling the truth… About me. *(Audible inhale. Low 808 heartbeat enters.)* But sometimes… A song will say something your heart has been afraid to admit. So… Let’s see what happens. [VERSE 1] I learned to leave a little room beside me, Enough to disappear if love went wrong… Kept one hand resting near the ending, Even when the beginning felt too strong… I could make a joke out of a feeling, Turn a question into something light… Say, “I’m good,” before you ever asked me, Then let the silence tell on me at night… I thought being careful kept me standing, Thought distance meant nobody could leave… But lately, every wall I built for safety Sounds more like fear than it sounds like me… [CHORUS] The song kneeeew… before I did… Every note kept opening something I hid… I came here singing like love Was meant for somebody else… Then your name started breathing Under every breath… Maybe I was never hard to love… Maybe I was scared of what love is… By the time I sang the words, “Someone stays…” The song kneeeew… Before I did… *(Before I did…)* *(It already knew…) [VERSE 2] Coffee tastes different when I’m thinking There might be somebody thinking too… Red lights don’t feel as long at midnight When the empty seat reminds me of you… Nothing outside changed its direction, Same old streets and same familiar sky… But I catch my reflection softly smiling Like somebody finally came alive… And I keep finding you in little places— In the songs I let play all the way… In the extra time I take before I leave home, In the things I almost call to say… [CHORUS 2] The song kneeeew… before I did… Every line kept touching something I hid… I came here singing like love Was meant for somebody else… Then your face started showing Inside every breath… Maybe I was never hard to love… Maybe I just never trusted it… By the time I sang the words, “Someone sees me…” The song kneeeew… Before I did… [BREAKDOWN — TRIMMED] *(808 disappears. Dark felt piano and one low cello note.)* Five minutes ago… These were only lyrics. Something beautiful I thought somebody else might need. But somewhere in the chorus… The song stopped asking Whether somebody could love me… And started asking Why I didn’t believe They already did. *(Silence.)* Baaaaby… I came here to sing About somebody loving you… Then I realized… I was singing about me. *(Electric blues guitar cries once. Heartbeat 808 returns.) [BRIDGE — TRIMMED] Maybe hope was never gone… Maybe it learned to whisper… Maybe every time I looked away, You loved me anyway… I kept waiting for a sign Big enough to break me open… But love had been here all along— Quiet… Patient… Unspoken… Who sees me… Who stays… Maybe love Has been here… All along… --- ## **[FINAL CHORUS — SOARING]** The song kneeeew… before I did… Every note was leading me to this… I walked in singing like love Was meant for somebody else… Then I heard your heartbeat Under every breath… Maybe I was never hard to love… Maybe I was only scared of it… The greatest surprise wasn’t finding love— It was believing You meant it… The song kneeeeeeeeeew… *(Sustained soaring note with widening vibrato, slight rasp and natural vocal break.)* Before I did. --- ## **[OUTRO — MUSIC FALLS AWAY]** *(Only electric blues guitar and distant darker violin remain.)* I thought I was singing A song about love… But the song… Was singing me Into it. *(Audible breath.)* The song kneeeew… Before I did. *(Long silence.)* **Iiiiiiiiiii…** **Love…** **Yooooooooou…** *(The final note rises after the instruments disappear—imperfect, exposed and completely human.)*