“Leave the Lantern On” [Intro | soft, breathy] I heard your name in the floorboards, felt it move through the walls. Somewhere under the silence, my heart still answers your call. [Verse 1] There’s a ribbon on the doorknob, there’s a storm behind the glass. I keep dreaming of your shadow where the moonlight used to pass. [Pre-Chorus] And I don’t need a promise carved in stone or sung in gold. I just need your tired hands to find their way back home. [Chorus] So I leave the lantern on, I leave the window wide. I keep a little room for you on the softer side of night. Come on, come on, beloved, come lay your burden down. I have loved you through the thunder, I would love you through the sound. If you’re lost beyond the treeline, if you’re aching, if you’re gone, follow the ghost of my heartbeat. I’ll leave the lantern on. [Verse 2] There’s a song beneath the kitchen light, there’s a prayer inside the rain. Every note I ever swallowed comes back wearing your name. [Pre-Chorus 2] And I don’t need forever if forever feels too far. Just meet me in the morning where the bruised-up angels are. [Chorus] So I leave the lantern on, I leave the window wide. I keep a little room for you on the softer side of night. [Bridge | darker, Sleep Token-style build] And if the gods won’t answer, let the river speak instead. Let the violin remember every word we never said. Let the sax move like confession, warm and low against my skin. Let the flute rise like forgiveness, let the night come wandering in. I don’t want to own you. I don’t want to make you stay. I just want the kind of love that doesn’t look away. [Instrumental Break | flute + electric violin + alto sax] Flute lead, electric violin harmony, alto sax response, building drums, layered “come home” background vocals. [Final Chorus | big, warm, devotional] So I leave the lantern on, I leave the window wide. I keep a little room for you on the softer side of night. Come on, come on, beloved, come lay your burden down. I have loved you through the thunder, I would love you through the sound. [Outro | soft harmonies] I heard your name in the floorboards, felt it move through the walls. Until you find the doorway, I’ll leave the lantern on.
