SECONDHAND [Intro — immediate full groove from the first beat, warm bass, soft hand percussion, muted guitar, no ambient buildup] [Verse 1 — fully sung, smooth melodic phrasing, warm close-mic baritone, steady forward motion] I gave a friend a warning. I heard you in it, word for word. Same words, same weight, that same old little pause. I haven't called you in years. You still got there first. [Pre-Chorus — fully sung, melody rises naturally, gentle harmonic lift] I laughed — it wasn't my laugh. I used a word I'd dropped. I thought I put you away. You just went quiet. You never stopped. [Chorus — clear melodic hook, warm rhythmic lift, memorable and flowing] You speak before I do. You speak before I do. I open my mouth, and there you are. You speak before I do. You always get there first. I haven't heard you in years. You speak before I do. [Verse 2 — same melodic frame as Verse 1, fuller groove, relaxed but propulsive] I gave half of you away. I don't reach for you at all. Some of you are gone now, and you talk more than you did. The ones I never open are the ones I quote. [Pre-Chorus — same melody, stronger bass movement, controlled lift] I laughed — it wasn't my laugh. I used a word I'd dropped. I thought I put you away. You just went quiet. You never stopped. [Chorus — wider harmony, subtle vocal doubles, steady movement] You speak before I do. You speak before I do. I open my mouth, and there you are. You speak before I do. You always get there first. I haven't heard you in years. You speak before I do. [Bridge — fully sung, groove softens but never stops, intimate sustained phrasing] There's one I never take down. Not because I forgot — because I still know it too well. I haven't said your name in years. You're still in my mouth. You say who I think I am in a voice I never chose. [Final Chorus — fuller organic groove, firm melodic delivery, emotional but not triumphant] You don't speak before I do. Not every time. I open my mouth and hear something that's mine. You don't speak before I do. Not all of you. Not everyone who taught me how to talk still gets to talk. [Outro — groove drops to bass and percussion, softly sung final line] And you — the one I was afraid to name — you can stop first.
