[Intro] [Solitary, warm Rhodes piano progression with delicate tremolo] [Distant ambient guitar swells dripping in delay and reverb] [Soft vinyl crackle, intimate and haunting tone] [Verse 1] [Very fragile vocal delivery, close-mic, subtle sub-bass thud] You reach across the mattress and rest your palm against my hip I want to lean into your warmth, but something bites my bottom lip The perfume lingering on your wrist is lavender and cedar wood I try to breathe it cleanly the way an honest person would Instead my head pulls back to an apartment on the quays Where someone else’s citrus scent brought me to my knees [Pre-Chorus] [Subtle muted electric guitar plucks, slow swelling pads] The room is full of whispers that don't belong to you A chorus of old promises that never quite came through I’m looking in your green eyes, fighting off the shade Of every crooked corner where a devotion was betrayed [Chorus] [Full rhythm section enters gently, lush vocal harmonies, Danny O'Donoghue strain] I’m haunted by past lovers in the silence of our bed! Walking through the corridors inside my crowded head! Every time you hold me close, I hear an older door slam shut Bleeding on your clean white sheets from a vintage cut! How do I love you wholly, how do I make us start With a cemetery rattling inside my ribcage heart? [Verse 2] [Brushed snare pattern, warm bass groove, acoustic guitar strumming softly] You hang your winter jacket on the coat peg by the hall Beside the shadow where another coat hung against the wall You laugh at how the kettle whistles early on the stove And I freeze up remembering the arguments we strove To bury under tea bags and apologetic glances I’m measuring your tenderness against my broken chances [Pre-Chorus] [Tension thickens, drums kick harder, aching vocal rises] It isn't fair to judge you by the debts of someone gone To make you carry luggage that you never laid hands on Yet every gentle word you speak rings like a tripwire bell Can’t tell if this is sanctuary or another cell! [Chorus] [Dynamic peak, rich bass, crying lead guitar accents] I’m haunted by past lovers in the silence of our bed! Walking through the corridors inside my crowded head! Every time you hold me close, I hear an older door slam shut Bleeding on your clean white sheets from a vintage cut! How do I love you wholly, how do I make us start With a cemetery rattling inside my ribcage heart? [Bridge] [Music pulls back completely to ambient keys and solitary guitar harmonics] I don’t want to see a phantom when you touch my cheek. I don’t want to hear an echo every time you speak. [Deep orchestral kick drum builds, vocal climbs up into high belt] Exorcise the ghosts! Wash the floorboards clean! Teach me how to love the person actually in the scene! [Chorus] [Maximum emotional intensity, soaring vocal ad-libs, weeping electric guitar] I’m haunted by past lovers in the silence of our bed! Walking through the corridors inside my crowded head! Every time you hold me close, I hear an older door slam shut Bleeding on your clean white sheets from a vintage cut! How do I love you wholly, how do I make us start With a cemetery rattling inside my ribcage heart? [Outro] [Piano slows down, drums drop out, tender falsetto] Stay right here... Don't move your hand... Teach me to see you... Just you. [Single soft Rhodes chord fades into room tone]
