Like Before

I didn’t know…
(yeah…)
I didn’t know I missed it like this…

⸻

[Verse 1 – detailed + nostalgic]

Walked in, same breakroom lights
Clock still stuck around 2:10
(mm…)
That old fan barely working right
But everybody moving like it’s the end

You looked at me like “finally”
Hands full, said “I need you again”
(need you again…)
And I fell right back in rhythm
Like I never left them

Apron strings and rushing feet
Calling my name from across the room
For a moment I felt complete
Like I was somebody they couldn’t lose

⸻

[Pre-Chorus – soft realization]

Then I woke up… dead quiet
(no sound…)
No missed calls… no one trying
(no one…)
Didn’t know I needed that
Didn’t know I’d feel it back
(feel it back…)

⸻

[Chorus – emotional, intimate but strong]

I didn’t know I missed it
‘Til I saw it in a dream
(in a dream…)
You used to call my name
When it got hard to breathe
(call my name…)

You passed me everything
When it got too backed up
(yeah… yeah…)
Now it’s quiet… nobody calls me like before
(like before… no more…)

⸻

 [Verse 2 – emotional peak w/ crying moment]

I walked in just to see your face
Didn’t think it would hit this way
(no…)
You smiled like I never changed
Like I still had my place

Tears in your eyes when you pulled me close
Said “we been needing you the most”
(yeah…)
Damn… I felt that in my chest
Like I ain’t been that since

You said “don’t stay gone too long”
Like I mattered more than I knew
(don’t go…)
I think I left a piece of me
Somewhere in that room

⸻

 [Pre-Chorus – stronger, layered]

Then I woke up… back alone
(back alone…)
No one blowing up my phone
(my phone…)
Didn’t know I missed that part
Being needed… having heart
(having heart…)

⸻

 [Chorus – fuller, harmonies stacked]

I didn’t know I missed it
‘Til I saw it in a dream
(oh… in a dream…)
You used to call my name
When it got hard to breathe
(breathe…)

You passed me everything
When it got too backed up
(in the rush…)
Now it’s quiet… nobody calls me like before
(anymore… no more…)

⸻

[Bridge – silence moment + raw truth]

(beat cuts… just vocal + slight reverb)

Was I more when I was with you…
(pause… breath)
Or am I just less right now…

(soft background enters)

I didn’t miss the job…
I missed who I was there
(who I was… yeah…)

Felt like the stars aligned for a moment
Like I still belonged somewhere
(somewhere…)

Now I’m reaching for that same feeling
But it’s not there… it’s not there


⸻
[Final Chorus – evolved, more desperate/emotional]

I didn’t know I missed it
Now I don’t know how to sleep
(can’t sleep…)
‘Cause nobody calls my name
Like it used to be

You used to need my hands
Now you don’t need me at all
(at all…)
Now it’s quiet… and I don’t feel like me no more
(no more…)

⸻

[Outro – stripped, echoing, haunting]

I didn’t miss the job…
(no…)
I missed who I was…

Now it’s quiet…
(so quiet…)
Nobody calls me…

Like before…

Alternative R&B,soft, airy pads simple piano or electric keys,deep but subtle bass,slow, minimal drums