**[Intro – Spoken, with light piano underscoring (♩ = 72)**
*(Soft city sounds in background — distant sirens, hum of neon.)*
> “Twenty years chasing lights…
> They never spelled my name.
> They never really led to Fame
*(Piano motif rises in C major; add warm electric bass, brushed drums.)*
**[ Verse 1 – ♩ = 84, gentle swing]**
I came here bright and twenty-two,
With ninety bucks and hope or two,
The skyline hummed, *you’ll make it, kid,*
And every dream was loosely bid.
A chorus gig, a minor play,
A featured line that slipped away,
Each left me thinking, *this is it!*
Then curtain down, and the same old shit
*(Light underscore builds toward transition; add muted trumpet flourish.)*
**[Pre-Chorus 1 – Slight crescendo, more rhythmic emphasis]**
And every year the city turned,
While one more lesson softly burned.
The years flew by my passion getting cold
With every year making me feel more old
***Chorus 1 – ♩ = 92, fuller instrumentation, emotional lift]**
I was almost something, maybe someone,
Almost famous when the lights came on.
Almost ready when the call came late,
Almost opened up the golden gate.
Now I’m halfway through this crazy climb,
Counting hours and chasing time ,
And wondering what *almost* means,
When “dreams come true” yet just stay dreams.
*(Hold final word “dream” for four beats — slow fade into minor echo chords.)*
**[Verse 2 – Back to ♩ = 84, reflective tone]**
I painted sets, I voiced cartoons,
sang gigs at bars so many moons
Taught voice to kids who stole the show,
While I pretended It all would help me grow.
They told me art’s a long, slow game,
But slow turned still, then lost its name,
I blinked and saw two decades gone,
My younger self still cheering on.
**[Pre-Chorus 2 – Spoken over piano vamp, then sung softly]**
(Spoken) I laugh, I cry, I check my phone…
(Sung)
In rooms I rent but never own.
**[Chorus 2 – ♩ = 96, richer harmony, strings enter]**
I was almost center stage and golden,
Almost seen, or so I’m told then.
Almost timeless, briefly trending,
Almost happy or just pretending.
Now I measure loss in tiny gains
Like breath on glass that fades and wanes
The crowd thins out, the night resumes,
With echoes in these rented lonely rooms.
*(Slow ritardando — music resolves to Dm7 chord.)*
**[Bridge – ♩ = 80, introspective, then hopeful rise]
Did I chase the wrong parade?
Did I trade the real for some charade?
Or is this life a longer plot,
Where “almost there” is all we’ve got?
(Builds to forte with sustained major chord; vocal holds “got.”)
[Final Chorus – ♩ = 92, full band, sense of redemption]
I was almost something once, I swear it,
Still, the city hums and I can bear it.
There’s grace in falling, pride in tries,
A kind of truth beneath the lies.
So I’ll wake up, and start anew,
With “almost” fading into view —
If I don’t make it, that’s okay,
I lived the dream in my small way
TheaterFly79
