[Intro]
[Fingerpicked Em - C - G - D, breath close to mic]
[Wordless falsetto runs, airy “mmmm” and “hmmm” over chords]
[Verse 1]
[Soft, low chest voice]
I clock out under flickering lights, same tired neon glow
Scroll my phone in the parking lot, nothing new I need to know
Every post is another performance, everybody on a stage
I’m just standing in the background while the world collects its praise
At the shop I’m all one-liners, “Yeah, I’m good, man, how ’bout you?”
Make ’em laugh around the coolers, hide the hollow coming through
Shake hands at the get togethers, “Work is fine, I can’t complain”
They don’t see the quiet version driving home through midnight rain
[Pre-Chorus]
[Voice lifts, breathier]
I am not some ghost behind the curtain
I’m not cruel, I’m not unkind
I just never learned to sell my hurt
With a slogan and a headline
[Chorus]
[Falsetto on first “home,” long run on “alo-o-one”]
And I come hoome… to nobody at the doooor (ooooh)
Shoes in the hall, but they’re only ever mine on the floor
I keep the liiights low, pretend I like the quiet glow
But the years fly by like updates on a timeline
And I am still… alone… [falsetto glide, drop to chest]
Still alone with nowhere else to go
[Verse 2]
[Smoky tone, weary warmth]
All the apps say “sell your story,” turn your life into a pitch
Have a take on every headline, pick a side and dig that ditch
I’ve got hobbies, I’ve got records, I’ve got books and busted strings
But it feels like no one sees you if you’re not a thousand flashing things
So I put on a show at birthdays, crack a joke when someone cries
Play the clown at coworkers’ happy hours, keep the hurt behind my eyes
’Cause it feels like this whole era only listens when you scream
While the soft ones and the shy ones fade to background in between
[Pre-Chorus 2]
[More intensity, subtle crack]
I am not too quiet to be worthy
I am not too simple to be loved
I’m just living in a season where the loudest
Get the echo that the rest of us dream of
[Chorus 2]
[Stronger belts, wide vibrato, soar to falsetto]
And I come hoome… to an echo and a sigh (my name)
Four bare walls and a screen that keeps on asking me “go live?”
I leave the TV on for company and fall asleep to endless shows
While the years slide by like comments in a feed
That nobody else… knoooows… [high falsetto]
Nobody else knows
[Bridge]
[Single strums, fragile vocal building]
[Soft falsetto]
This is for the ones who play it fine
Smile on stage, breaking off the line
[Louder belt]
For the quiet after parties, when the laughter’s off their face
When the mask is on the table and the room is just empty space
[Soft, almost whispered]
Maybe someday every lonely heart like mine
Finds a hand that doesn’t need a headline
[Final Chorus]
[Start a cappella falsetto, then guitar crashes back in]
And we come home… [long falsetto run, trembling]
[Full voice, belts embroidered with emotion]
Just to be alone.
[Guitar Solo]
DCBROOKS2
