Crooked Little Stories

[Verse 1]
You still drink at the same old bar
I still flinch when I pass your car
Mutual friends keep trading names
Like cigarettes and secondhand blame
[Pre-Chorus]
You rehearsed that script in your bathroom mirror
Tore out the pages where you pulled the trigger
Now every room buzzes with your version of me
Guess you win if they never see
[Chorus]
Crooked little stories
Falling from your tongue
You turned our mess to glory
Made me the wicked one
You paint my face in shadows
Just to keep your halo bright
Tell them how you tried your best
Leave out how you set the fire
Every word you’re selling
Makes me the villain you require
[Verse 2]
You say I left
I slammed the door
Funny
I remember you wanting more
Your rough draft heart
All crossed-out lines
I covered for you every time
[Pre-Chorus]
Now I hear my name laced through your laughter
Like I’m the monster you wrote in after
So they don’t notice all that broken glass
Stuck in the steps of your careful past
[Chorus]
Crooked little stories
Falling from your tongue
You turned our mess to glory
Made me the wicked one
You paint my face in shadows
Just to keep your halo bright
Tell them how you tried your best
Leave out how you set the fire
Every word you’re selling
Makes me the villain you require
[Bridge]
Did you ever choke
On that sugar-coated spin? (oh)
Do your hands still shake
When you swear I did you in?
I sleep light
But I still sleep
Can you say the same at night
When you rewrite
Rewrite
Rewrite?
[Chorus]
Crooked little stories
Dripping off your tongue
You turned our wreck to glory
Left me coming undone
You paint my face in shadows
So your reflection stays in light
Tell them how you saved yourself
Forget who taught you how to fight
Go on
Keep on telling
I’ll be the villain in your eyes
Your favorite little villain
Built from all your covered lies

folk, Indie-pop ballad with female vocals over warm electric piano and intimate fingerpicked guitar. First verse close-mic’d and almost whispered; pre-chorus brings in soft toms and muted bass. Choruses bloom with airy pads, stacked harmonies, and a steady backbeat. Bridge strips back to vocal and keys before a final, emotionally cracked chorus with ad-libbed echoes and wider reverb., female vocals