(Verse 1)
Balmy window, fan slow-spinning, luxuriant plants in my room,
I woke elated, hair askew, humming like a honeymoon.
Help defray my sorrow's price — a little joke, a thrift-store crown,
I sip my coffee, grin at life, let the morning clown me down. (ooh)
(Pre-Chorus)
No, I refuse to kowtow to pain — I clap back with a grin,
A giddy two-step through the mess, I let the foolishness begin.
This world’s a charming farce, a sitcom with a laugh track heart,
I’m picking up the pieces but I’m playing every part. (hah)
(Chorus) (Call & Response)
Balmy nights, luxuriant highs — laugh me out of ignominy. (Laugh!)
Balmy nights, luxuriant highs — laugh me out of ignominy. (Ha!)
Call: “Light it up!” — Response: “We glow!”
Balmy nights, luxuriant highs — laugh me out of ignominy. (ooh ooh)
(Verse 2)
Tiny domestic cataclysm: my cactus died, the milk went bad,
I cried a little, then I giggled — what a wasteful, dramatic fad.
Spilled sauce on my white shirt, tripped on socks like a pantomime,
Elated by the chaos, I rewrite the punchline every time. (yeah)
(Pre-Chorus)
I won’t kowtow to petty shame, I’ll stand and take a bow,
Turn ignominy to glitter — here’s my confetti now.
This farce is my parade, mismatched shoes and all that jazz,
Giddy improvisation, every misstep gets pizzazz. (ooh)
(Chorus) (Tighter)
Balmy nights, luxuriant highs — laugh me out of ignominy. (Laugh!)
Balmy nights, luxuriant highs — laugh me out of ignominy. (Ha!)
Backing choir echoes: “Laugh!” “Laugh!” “Laugh!”
Balmy nights, luxuriant highs — laugh me out of ignominy.
(Bridge — half-time, key lift)
Oh, absolve the toaster for the crumbs it couldn’t save, (ooh)
Absolve my little sins, I’m learning how to brave. (ooh-oh)
From cataclysm to calm — we make spa days from spilt wine,
I’m elated, I’m ridiculous, this giddy heart is mine. (ad-lib: whoo!)
(Production cue)
(half-time clap, warm Rhodes swell, subtle horns — syncopated vocal ad-libs: “hah, ooh, ha!”
Call-and-response: lead \/ backing choir on the final words, lush bass pocket)
(Chorus — Variation / Payoff)
Absolve me — no, watch me absolve the noise and shine, (Lead)
Balmy nights, luxuriant highs — I claim this funny life as mine. (Choir: “Claim it!”)
We’ll defray the cost of sorrow with laughter and a rhyme,
Balmy nights, luxuriant highs — we turn ignominy to time. (ooh)
(Outro)
So when the little cataclysm comes — the crumbs, the laugh, the fall,
I’ll be elated, giddy, standing tall through every small farce call.
Luxuriant dreams, warm and wild, we’ll never kowtow to shame,
Defray the weight with silly songs — and laugh our way to fame. (ha!)
(Ending ad-libs)
“Balmy—luxuriant—laugh me out!” (backing: “Out!”)
“Absolve it, toss it, wear your crown!” (backing: “Crown!”)
(Fade with warm Rhodes, light horns, syncopated handclaps and a final giddy laugh)
