[Intro - single piano, domestic, living room nobody's listening to] [Verse 1 - flat, remembering, not performing] Maxime needed help with homework every night Maths then French then maths again Both parents at the kitchen table I did mine in my bedroom Door open not closed Open means available Open means I'm fine Nobody walked through it I got good grades They said great The way you say great to a receipt Maxime failed his test they had a meeting I passed everything they said great [Pre-Chorus - careful, disclaiming, still flat] I'm not angry I want to say that first They loved me they do love me They set a place for me every night I was always welcome at the table I just never had anything anyone wanted to taste [Chorus - piano and voice, restrained, aching] Filler That's the track on an album nobody remembers Nice enough not bad Not the single not the closer Just the thing between the songs that matter Pleasant background lovely girl No trouble at all They meant it as a compliment I wore it like a name [Verse 2 - memory, photograph energy, specific] I was sixteen there was a gathering Aunt Colette wine on the counter Maxime doing impressions everyone laughing I was in the kitchen helping Mum Because standing near someone feels like being seen She talked about Maxime for a while How spirited how funny Then she said And Gabrielle she's Doing well too right The pause was so small Nobody else would have heard it I heard it [Pre-Chorus - wound named, devastating, still quiet] That's where a description should have been She's dot dot dot The best thing about me was that I didn't take up space The most lovable thing about Gabrielle Renoir Was how little she required [Chorus - same melody, meaning deepened, litany] Filler Nice enough warm enough quiet enough Small enough good enough For a background not a chorus She's dot dot dot doing well too right I set the table and I smiled And I was no trouble at all Right [Bridge - discordant piano, something breaking through] Maxime texts me hey Gabs how's things He has no idea The light just pointed where the noise was And I was so quiet I was the quietest thing in every room I stood in [Final Chorus - barely sung, almost giving up] Filler I don't know if she's still in here Underneath all this noise I don't know if Cadenza is the answer Or just the loudest way of saying Can you hear me Am I in the room She's dot dot dot [Outro - piano note holds, stops mid-ring, cut, not fade, someone walked away]
