[INTRO — CLOSE MIC / PIANO] If I knew tonight was the last night I'd be here... I wouldn't leave a note. I'd leave the light on. [PIANO — BANJO ENTERS] [VERSE 1] There's a coffee ring beside the sink, A jacket hanging by the door, Half a song inside a notebook, Boot prints drying on the floor. Nothing looks important while you're standing in the room. Funny how the ordinary turns sacred when it's through. I spent years trying to matter, Trying to leave some giant sign— Now I think I'd rather leave something useful behind. [PRE-CHORUS — R&B HARMONIES] If you get here tired, Sit down. If you get here scared, Stay awhile. If the dark convinced you there's nobody coming— Look around. [CHORUS] I LEFT A LIGHT ON FOR WHOEVER COMES NEXT. There's a little wood for burning, There's a little hope left. Take what you need. Leave something behind. You don't have to know my name to know somebody tried. I LEFT A LIGHT ON. Yeah— I LEFT A LIGHT ON. [POST — LOW SUB / FEMALE HARMONY] For whoever comes next... [VERSE 2] Maybe that's the whole damn thing— Not monuments or crowns, Just somebody fixing up the bridge before the rain comes down. Planting trees you'll never sit beneath. Teaching shit you'll never see. Building doors for strangers who may never know it was me. Maybe wealth is what keeps moving after your hands let it go. Maybe love ain't who remembers you— Maybe love is what still grows. [DRUMS LOCK IN] [RAP VERSE] Look— I used to think legacy meant make 'em remember the face, Name on the wall, big house, big number, proof I existed someplace. But ego's a landlord, charges too much for the space. So fuck it. Put my name in pencil. Put the work in stone. Give the kid the shortcut I had to learn alone. Show 'em where the floor gives. Tell 'em which wire burns. Give 'em every damn mistake without making 'em earn it first. Money? Make enough that fear doesn't run the family. Then make enough to reach somebody else's family. Knowledge? Don't hoard it till they call you wise. Wisdom locked inside one skull is just a library that dies. Love? Don't squeeze it. Don't make it prove. Open your hand. If it stays, beautiful. If it moves— LET IT MOVE. [INSTRUMENTAL — FIDDLE ANSWERS LES PAUL] [PRE-CHORUS] If you get here broken, Come in. If you don't know where you're going, Neither did I. There's a chair by the fire and a map on the table— Some of it's wrong. You'll figure out why. [CHORUS — BIGGER] I LEFT A LIGHT ON FOR WHOEVER COMES NEXT. There's a little wood for burning, There's a little hope left. Take what you need. Leave something behind. You don't have to know my name to know somebody tried. I LEFT A LIGHT ON. I LEFT A LIGHT ON. [BREAKDOWN — EVERYTHING STOPS] But what if nobody comes? [LONG SILENCE] [PIANO] Then the room was warm while I was here. That's enough. [BOWED VIBRAPHONE BLOOMS] [BRIDGE] Maybe nobody hears the songs. Write 'em. Maybe nobody reads the words. Mean 'em. Maybe the tree dies young. Plant it. Maybe the bridge gets washed away. Build it. Maybe they never say thank you. Good. Now you know why you did it. [BUILD — BOOTS BEGIN] Not applause. Not proof. Not heaven keeping score. You saw somebody coming— so you held the fucking door. [FINAL CHORUS — FULL BAND / HUMAN CHOIR] LEAVE A LIGHT ON FOR WHOEVER COMES NEXT! Put another log on the fire, Give 'em whatever is left! TAKE WHAT YOU NEED! LEAVE SOMETHING BEHIND! You don't have to know our names to know somebody tried! LEAVE A LIGHT ON! [CHOIR] LEAVE A LIGHT ON! [COSMIC] When you make it through— [CHOIR] LEAVE A LIGHT ON! [COSMIC] When you've learned something new— [CHOIR] LEAVE A LIGHT ON! [COSMIC] Not for me. Not for you. FOR WHOEVER COMES NEXT! [HUGE FINAL HIT] [ALL MUSIC ABRUPTLY DISAPPEARS] [Same piano as opening] [Very close voice] And if you're the one who found this light... Good. Warm up. Then go build one somewhere else. [CLICK OF LAMP] [BLACK]
