[Intro: grand piano alone] [Verse 1: powerful female voice, controlled] You say you need more space, an open plan, a better view You say I'm just a wall that's standing between the light and you Go on and call the crew, I'm not gonna put up a fight But let me tell you how this house is gonna feel the first cold night First the doors start sticking, then they swing open on their own Then a crack walks down the ceiling like it's looking for a home Every picture hangs a little crooked, every floorboard starts to lean And you'll call it settling, baby, you'll call it anything but me [Chorus: piano pounding, the strings enter] So go on and knock me out, and see what falls I'm load-bearing, baby, I been holding up your walls Every beam you ever bragged about was resting on my back So go on, knock me out, and listen for the crack [Verse 2: live drums enter, the voice climbing] You'll miss me in the small things first, the birthdays and the bills Your mother's Sunday phone call and the plants along the sills Then the big things start to wobble, the job, the friends, the rent And you'll stand there in the drywall dust and wonder where it went [Chorus] So go on and knock me out, and see what falls I'm load-bearing, baby, I been holding up your walls Every beam you ever bragged about was resting on my back So go on, knock me out, and listen for the crack [Bridge: piano and strings, quiet, then rising] I said all of that in April, standing in the hall with my keys You laughed and called it drama, said the place would breathe with me gone Well, I hear it's breathing heavy, I hear it's coming down in pieces Funny how a house can't breathe without the wall that held it all along [Verse 3: past tense now, every prophecy landed] The doors stuck in May, and in June the ceiling split The pictures leaned all August, and you swore it was settling a bit Your mother called and called, the plants gave up along the sills And by September you were sleeping on a mattress with the bills [Key Change] [Final Chorus: full band, the biggest belt] You went and knocked me out, and down it came I was load-bearing, baby, you were living in my frame Every beam you ever bragged about came down across your back And me, I'm standing on my own without a single crack [Outro: piano alone, a long held note] A wall like me can stand alone [End]
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