The Gentle Touch I’ve Never Known

[Verse 1]
There’s a space beside my shoulder
Where your breathing should have grown
All these winters I grew older
Still I’ve yet to call you home
In my mind I trace a memory
That my body’s never known
The softest skin
So close to me
Warmest eyes that feel like home
[Chorus]
Oh
The gentle touch I’ve never known
Like a prayer that never found my tongue
I am standing in this quiet field alone
With a longing that’s forever young
If your tender hands could fold my sorrow
Like a letter you would read out slow
I would give you every bitter
Borrowed tomorrow
For the gentle touch I’ve never known
[Verse 2]
I have learned to sleep in corners
Leave a space that’s yours
Untorn
Pouring tea for one at morning
Saving half a cup till dawn
I have loved you through the absence
Through the ache of empty arms
All my life a single question
Have I ever felt your warmth?
[Chorus]
Oh
The gentle touch I’ve never known
Like a song that trembles on my breath
I am waiting on this quiet road alone
For a kindness I have never met
If your tender hands could fold my sorrow
Like a letter you would read out slow
I would give you every bitter
Borrowed tomorrow
For the gentle touch I’ve never known
[Bridge]
Will you find me when I’m tired
When I’m thin from holding on
Lay your palm against my tired
Tired heart
And stay until the dark is gone (stay till the dark is gone)
[Chorus]
Oh
The gentle touch I’ve never known
Let it fall on me like early rain
Lay your warmest eyes upon this weathered soul
Wash the years of quiet
Careful pain
If your tender hands could fold my sorrow
Like a letter you would read out slow
I would give you every bitter
Borrowed tomorrow
For the gentle touch I’ve never known
For the gentle touch I’ve never known

Slow Irish ballad with female alto vocals, close-miked and intimate. Sparse fingerpicked acoustic guitar and low whistle swells, soft drone from harmonium or fiddle under the vocal. Verses stay hushed and conversational; chorus blooms with subtle harmonies and sustained strings. Reverb is warm and short, like a stone room; dynamics rise gently into each refrain then fall back to a near-whispered ending., ballad, slow, gentle