THE EXIT THEORY Part I — Leave Before I Love You — Ember

[Intro — nearly bare] [low female clean vocal] [close-mic, restrained] [almost conversational] I keep my hands where you can see them Like that makes them safe I tell you every awful thing before you get the chance to call it by its name And you— You keep looking at me like I’m something you don’t have to survive [Verse 1 — sparse, dark] I know exactly how this ends I’ve watched the smoke crawl up the walls I’ve learned to recognize the sound a person makes right before they stop believing So don’t make promises Don’t make a home here Don’t put your heartbeat anywhere near mine I can live through losing you That’s the part I’ve practiced all my life [Pre-Chorus — pressure building] So why— Why are you coming closer? Can’t you feel the temperature change? I’m giving you every reason Why won’t you walk away? [Chorus — huge clean vocal, grit entering] Leave before I love you Before I make your pulse a promise I can break Leave before I love you Before I learn how much of you I’m terrified to take I know how to survive a goodbye I know exactly what to do But I don’t know who I become If somebody stays If somebody stays If somebody stays— when I tell them not to [Post-Chorus — low distorted vocal] Don’t make me believe you. [Verse 2 — heavier pulse] You say I talk like I’m a warning Like every scar became a law Like pain was evidence that anything I touched was always meant to fall apart Maybe you’re right Maybe I built this Maybe I put the exits in every room But if I leave the door wide open Why does it hurt when you move toward it? [Pre-Chorus — clean rising into rasp] Go on Prove me right Become another shadow I can understand Go on Save yourself Before I forget why I’m afraid to hold your hand [Chorus — clean + layered harsh undertone] Leave before I love you Before I make your pulse a promise I can break Leave before I love you Before I learn how much of you I’m terrified to take I know how to survive a goodbye I know exactly what to do But I don’t know who I become If somebody stays If somebody stays If somebody stays— when I tell them not to [Instrumental Drop — sudden silence] [breathing] [very soft clean vocal] Why are you still here? [Breakdown — deep female growl] I GAVE YOU THE MATCH I GAVE YOU THE GASOLINE I SHOWED YOU THE WORST OF ME AND CALLED IT HONESTY I DREW YOU A MAP TO EVERY WAY OUT SO WHY— WHY— WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE? [Half-time breakdown — lower, slower] RUN. LIKE I TAUGHT YOU. RUN. LIKE THEY ALWAYS DO. RUN— BEFORE I HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE TERRIBLE THOUGHT THAT I WAS WRONG ABOUT YOU [Silence] [Bridge — clean vocal, exposed] Or worse— that I was wrong about me. [Final Chorus — enormous, clean vocal opening fully] Don’t leave because I love you I know that’s not what I was supposed to say Don’t leave because I love you I’m tired of setting every beautiful thing on fire just to watch it walk away I know how to survive a goodbye God, I’ve got nothing left to prove So maybe I can learn who I become If somebody stays If somebody stays If somebody stays— and I let them [Final Breakdown — clean and harsh layered] STAY WHEN I TELL YOU TO RUN STAY TILL I STOP CALLING LOVE A LOADED GUN STAY I DON’T NEED YOU TO SAVE ME I JUST NEED TO LEARN THAT I DON’T HAVE TO SAVE YOU FROM ME [Outro — instrumentation falling away] [fragile clean vocal] I keep my hands where you can see them You put yours next to mine Nothing burns. [complete silence]