Older

(Tempo: Slow, driving 4/4 time. Think muffled drums and a dusty acoustic guitar.)

(Verse 1)

The deadbolt clicked like a final word

The quietest goodbye I’ve ever heard.

I left the keys on the counter’s edge,

Right next to the dust on the window ledge.

That 1st Street hallway is narrow and dim,

Filled with the versions of who I’ve been—

The girl who thought twenty was ancient and tall,

Now she’s just shadows pinned to the wall.

(Chorus)

And the world got heavy while I wasn't looking,

Like a coat that’s too big for my frame.

Now I’m checking the mail for a life I’m not living,

And meeting people who don't know my name.

Is it weird that I miss being bored in the grass?

Watching the afternoon shadows just pass?

(Verse 2)

I drove by the park where the swings used to creak,

Now there’s a silence that’s harder to speak.

The grocery store has been painted a blue

That makes me forget what the old one could do.

We traded our secrets for schedules and rent,

Wondering where all the "forever" went.

I saw your brother, he’s got kids of his own—

It’s a different kind of being alone.

(Bridge)

(The music builds here—add a layer of distorted, distant bells and whistles)

If I went back and knocked on the door,

Would the floorboards remember my feet on the floor?

Or have I outgrown the shape of the room?

Am I the seeker or just the consumed?

It’s not that I’m sad, it’s just strange to be here,

In the "someday" I wanted for all of those years.

(Outro)

(Music strips back to just a single, repetitive guitar note)

Anyway, the light’s turning green.

The sky is that color I’ve always seen.

Just a little bit older.

Just a little bit colder.

I’m fine.

I’m fine.

(Fade out with the sound of a distant train whistle)