What Does It Take?

[Intro]
[bright synth riff answers clean guitar phrases]
[band settles into groove]
[Verse 1]
You were barefoot in my kitchen
Stealing olives off my plate
Laughing at the way I’m stirring
Like you’re always running late
We were burnin’ through the weekend
Like the sun would never fade
Turned a couch into an island
Where the rest all washed away
[Chorus]
What does it take
To keep a good thing from breaking
When every promise we’re making
Cracks a little each day
What does it take
We keep patching
Keep praying
But every “fine” we’re both faking
Pulls another thread away
Oh
What does it take
[Verse 2]
We’ve got calendars and color codes
Date nights circled in red
Leaving notes on the mirror
‘Cause we ran out of words in bed
We’re two flight paths on a collision
Still we’re checking every gauge
Both hands tight on the feeling
That already slipped away
[Chorus]
What does it take
To keep a good thing from breaking
When every promise we’re making
Cracks a little each day
What does it take
We keep patching
Keep praying
But every “fine” we’re both faking
Pulls another thread away
Oh
What does it take
[Bridge]
Maybe love ain’t lost in lightning
Maybe it just drifts off course
Not a storm
Just quiet rewinding
Of every almost
Every forced reply (yeah)
If effort was the answer
We’d be golden
We’d be saved
But some cracks don’t care for plaster
They just widen when you stay
[Chorus]
What does it take
To keep a good thing from breaking
We did the talking
The waiting
Still you’re slipping away
What does it take
When two hearts keep on working
But the center stops turning
And there’s nothing left to say
Oh
What does it take
(yeah, what does it take)

rock, Silky yacht-rock groove at a laid-back cruising tempo, male vocals with blue-eyed soul phrasing. Clever synth intro with a playful, melodic motif answered by clean lead guitar licks; tight bass and soft shuffling drums lock in a warm pocket. Verses stay smooth with electric piano and understated pads, chorus lifts with stacked harmonies and brighter guitar, bridge opens space for a tasteful guitar solo over evolving synth chords before one last big vocal hook., soul, clever, strong