[Verse 1]
On the corner where our footprints met at midnight,
You laughed beneath the amber of a half-lit streetlamp.
My suitcase leaned against the curb, ticket tucked away,
A late-night train called my name, and I almost left.
But you slipped a folded note inside my denim coat—
'Remember the river,' you wrote, 'remember how it glows.'
[Pre-Chorus]
I had a list of reasons to go, neat lines on paper thin,
I practiced saying forward, like it meant I could begin.
Then the city sighed and every reason seemed to fade,
And one small line of ink kept pulling me like waves.
[Chorus]
Let your tide write my name upon that crooked shore,
Pull the map back to the place I walked with you before.
Each heartbeat births a song that I can't hold alone—
Let your tide pull me back where I belong.
[Verse 2]
Morning painted river glass, the willow kept our secrets,
Your bike by the fence with its bell a little slow.
We traded borrowed dreams for postcards, freckles, small defeats,
I left my number on a napkin taped to home.
Years took the edges off the street, but not the sound of rain,
I found your laugh folded in the pocket of my coat again.
[Pre-Chorus 2]
I counted miles like loose coins, I spent them on the road,
I learned a thousand faces, learned a thousand different odes.
But under hotel lights and the hush of station stone,
That note beneath my heart kept calling me back home.
[Chorus — Variation]
Let your tide write my name upon that crooked shore,
Pull the map back to the place I walked with you before.
Each heartbeat births a song that keeps me moving on—
Let your tide pull me back where I belong.
[Bridge]
There was a moment on a midnight train I almost burned the page,
I told myself that starting over meant erasing all my age.
A doubt rose like an undertow, whispered 'maybe this is right,'
Then I felt your letter warm and the carriage eased to light.
I stepped down onto the platform where the willow bends and waits,
The river showed me every step I'd thought I'd left at the gates.
[Final Chorus]
Let your tide write my name upon that crooked shore,
Pull the map back to the place I walked with you before.
Each heartbeat births a song, a ribbon drifting home—
Let your tide pull me back where I belong.
[Outro — Resolution]
Now I stand where we first met, midnight's hush and lamp-glow low,
My suitcase by my foot, but this time I won't go.
Your tide has smoothed the edges, the river knows my name—
Let your tide pull me in, and I am finally home.
(Arrangement notes: Fingerpicked acoustic guitar throughout; add close female harmonies on choruses and second pre-chorus for lift; light brush snare or cajón enters on second chorus to drive rhythm; subtle cello/violin swell under the bridge to heighten the turning point; quiet single-note guitar fills between sections; end with intimate vocal and soft guitar arpeggio.)
