Verse 1 – slow acoustic pick, low vocal drawl]
It started small, just a whisper in the back
Didn’t mind it much, kinda liked the lack
No fire, no fight, just quiet in the chest
Thought it’d pass like rain, but it stayed as my guest
[Pre-Chorus – faint bass thump joins, building slight drag]
Laughed it off at first, said it’s temporary
But it shadows every step, gets heavier to carry
[Chorus – repeatable hook, pedal steel whine underneath, vocals overlap for empty feel]
Emptiness follows, emptiness stays
Eats up the nights, poisons the days
Nothing matters, not me, not you
Just hollow inside, nothing new
Emptiness follows… yeah, it consumes
Leaves me breaking in empty rooms
Can’t fix the pieces, can’t make it right
Emptiness follows me into the night
[Verse 2 – add soft, distant banjo pluck, keep it sparse]
Daytime smiles, hang with the crowd
Laugh like I’m fine, say it out loud
But they push away when the real me shows
Annoyed with the mess that nobody knows
Pleasing ’em all with a mask I wear thin
Falling apart where the cracks let it in
[Pre-Chorus – same drag, vocals crack a bit]
Try to change it, hate who I see
But it’s me in the mirror, won’t let me be free
[Chorus – repeat with slight vocal fade, hook digs in]
Emptiness follows, emptiness stays
Eats up the nights, poisons the days
Nothing matters, not me, not you
Just hollow inside, nothing new
Emptiness follows… yeah, it consumes
Leaves me breaking in empty rooms
Can’t fix the pieces, can’t make it right
Emptiness follows me into the night
[Bridge – drop to near silence, just guitar and whisper-vocal, slow build back]
Wake up tired, every damn dawn
Slept through the hours, but the weight’s still on
Don’t belong here, could be somewhere grand
But this void’s got me chained where I stand
Started liking it once, now it’s all I am
A false front crumbling, no plan
[Final Chorus – restrained swell then strip to acoustic, trailing repeat]
Emptiness follows, emptiness stays
(Emptiness follows…)
Eats up the nights, poisons the days
(Nothing matters…)
Emptiness follows… yeah, it consumes
(Leaves me breaking…)
Emptiness follows… into the night
(Yeah… follows… me…)
[Outro – fading guitar, soft spoken]
Started small… now it’s all…
Tired again… same as before…
Emptiness… follows…
