[Tempo & Technical Notes — For arranger] Tempo: 64 bpm (range 60–72). Time signature: 4/4. Verse s with gentle rubato; steady pulse in choruses. Violin: sul tasto in verses, warmer near bridge, full-bodied on climax; bowing: legato with occasional micro-phrasing. Violin enters bar 2 of each chorus to answer vocal lines. Violin solo: 16 bars, motif uses a minor 6th descent echoing the chorus hook. Outro : violin doubles melody, then descends and fades with reverb, sul tasto finish. (See embedded hold marks — and bar cues.) [Verse 1 — (rubato, intimate)] Under a burnt-out streetlight's hum (8) — Cold palms fold around a paper cup (8) — A car backfires like a memory (8) — I list the small things I gave up (8) — [Stage direction: short violin phrase (sul tasto) answers on beat 2 of lines 2 & 4 — fills 2 beats] [Pre-Chorus — (returning to pulse, 4 bars)] Heartbeat counts the distance home (8) — Windows keep the city’s distant moan (8) — I learn the shape of sudden fear (8) — Then let a softer sound come near (8) — [Violin: slides from a minor 3rd to a suspended 4th behind last line — holds 2 beats] [Chorus — (steady, vocal lines ~8 syllables each; violin enters bar 2 to answer)] Whispers of the quiet tide (8) — (violin fills 2 beats) Carrying the hope inside (8) — (violin fills 2 beats) Burnt-out lights, cold palms, and glass (8) — (violin answers) Let the small brave footprints last (8) — (violin answers) [Bar cue: Chorus = 4 bars per vocal line; violin motif echoes each line in bars 2–3] [Verse 2 — (rubato, tactile detail)] Motel keys rattle like old bones (8) — The kettle sings in a half-remembered tone (9) — My reflection blinks in a cracked café door (9) — I practice saying I’m safe once more (8) — [Violin: gentle counterline on beat 2 & a soft harmonic on last syllable] [Pre-Chorus 2 — (build slightly)] Street names stitch the map I trace (8) — Each doorway is a stored-out place (8) — Breath finds rhythm, tiny, slow (8) — I hand my chest what I need to know (9) — [Violin: holds a minor 6th under “slow” then resolves into chorus motif] [Chorus — (repeat with steady pulse; add subtle vocal harmonies)] Whispers of the quiet tide (8) — (violin fills 2 beats) Carrying the hope inside (8) — (violin fills 2 beats) Burnt-out lights, cold palms, and glass (8) — (violin answers) Let the small brave footprints last (8) — (violin answers) [Violin cue: motif climbs a step in last chorus repeat to hint at lift] [Bridge — (barrier-breaking; harmonic lift begins here; prepare key lift for final chorus)] There is a name for the night I keep (9) — A whisper folded into my sleep (9) — I press my palms to the window’s cold (8) — And watch a new sky’s silvered fold (8) — [Arrangement note: start harmonic lift here — raise tonal center by a whole step into final chorus; violin moves to full sound and soars above vocal on 3rd and 4th bars] [Final Chorus — (harmonic lift; vocal climbs; violin soars; lines ~8–9 syllables)] Whispers of the quiet tide (8) — (violin: