[Verse 1]
Neon on the sidewalk, your heels click through rain
Cigarette ash falling slow — traces of your name
Rooftop coat soaked, perfume hiding the lie
Mirror in the lobby shows the truth behind your smile
(Backgrounds: soft, sustained thirds — oohs)
[Pre‑Chorus]
You moved like velvet, had me wrapped in satin nights
A hush of whispered promises beneath the city lights
But now I feel the ember turn to flame — ahhhh
(Backgrounds answer: "feel the ember")
[Chorus]
Lead (male): Girl, you burned our love down, left it smoking on the ground — dowwn
BGs (call-and-response): (Burned it down) / (Burned it dow-wn)
Lead: You watched the sparks fly, didn’t try to put it out — dowwn
BGs (stacked harmony on final word): (You did it, you did it — dowwn)
[Background Vocal Punctuation]
BGs: (Ooh, you burned it down) — tight thirds, light whisper on ends
[Verse 2]
Lipstick crescent on the ashtray where my lighter used to stay
Phone lines gone silent at the hour that you used to say my name
Matchbook with a half-burnt bar receipt — your excuse in ink
Taxi lights like falling stars, took you farther than I think
(Backgrounds: small flourishes behind last lines)
[Pre‑Chorus — Variation]
Your shadow held me closer while your heart was running miles
Now I choke on the smoke of all your pretty, crooked smiles
But I feel the ember turn to flame — ahhhh
(BGs echo: "turn to flame")
[Chorus — Variation]
Lead: Girl, you burned our love down, watched the rooftop turn to grey — dowwn
BGs: (Burned it down) / (No, you burned it dow-wn)
Lead: Left my nights in cinders, left my morning with the stain — dowwn
BGs (stacked): (Left it all in the rain — dowwn)
[Bridge — Concrete Twist]
Polaroids in a shoebox, your lipstick on someone else’s hand
A hotel key with my initials, now weathered by your plans
You said you needed something you couldn’t find in my arms
So you lit up what we had and walked away with calm
(Backgrounds: whispered ad-libs — "Nooo, girl...")
[Bridge — Harmonic Build]
Lead: I used to trace your name like prayer on a cold, worn page
Now I trace the lesson — fire rewrites the stage
BGs: (Ooh — ooh — ooh) stacked fifths, rising into a last held note
[Final Chorus — Varied / Climactic]
Lead: Girl, you burned our love down, but flames don’t mean I’m bound — dowwn
BGs (counter-melody): (I rise — I rise — downnn)
Lead: You left the smoke to choke the night, I’ll find the light beyond the sound — dowwn
BGs (answers, then stacked): (Find the light) / (You did wrong — dowwn)
[Outro]
Lead (soft, reflective): Cigarette ash on the windowsill, your name fades with the tide
BGs (echoing, descending): (Fades away) — close in thirds
Lead (spoken, intimate): No more smoke between us now.
BGs (whisper): (You burned it down... you burned it down)
[Performance Notes]
- Tempo: slow, pocketed 79 BPM. Space for vocal runs and held vowels on "ahhh" and "dowwn."
- Background singers: use call-and-response on chorus lines, stacked thirds on final held words, whispered ad-libs/‘
