Prompt / Lyrics
[Verse 1] Dust on the glasses Chairs that never scrape the floor Cups set for company Who don’t come here anymore Your coat’s still by the doorway Your laugh still in the seams I light one cigarette And talk to empty seats and dreams [Chorus] Letters on the mantel Names I read in a trembling hand All those faces in the paper I can barely understand How the world keeps turning While the table’s set for two Letters on the mantel All I have of you [Verse 2] Radio keeps crackling Voices far from where I stand Songs about tomorrow From some distant, safer land Photographs are watching In their faded silver frames I still call out to shadows I still answer to your names [Chorus] Letters on the mantel Names I read in a trembling hand All those faces in the paper I can barely understand How the world keeps turning While the table’s set for two Letters on the mantel All I have of you [Bridge] They said you’d be home by autumn (oh) They said it just that way Now winter’s in my coffee cup And the years don’t go away I dance with coats on hangers Slow steps across the floor Counting every heartbeat Like boots that won’t come through the door [Chorus] Letters on the mantel Names I read in a trembling hand All those faces in the paper I can barely understand If love could cross an ocean I’d be standing next to you Letters on the mantel Reading them For two
Tags
jazz, Smoky 1940s torch-song ballad, slow swing rubato into a languid 6/8 sway; brushed kit, upright bass, muted trumpet fills, and mournful clarinet lines. Rich piano voicings under warm male vocals with old-hotel-room reverb; vocal leans into croon and micro-slides. Chorus blooms with close-voiced backing harmonies and a slight dynamic lift, then falls back to fragile, almost spoken phrases on the bridge., tone, sad, deep, slow
Duration
3:35
Instrumental
No
Created
2/26/2026