Späti Halogen

[Verse 1]
The Ritter Sport breaks clean in that January cold,
Underneath the Späti halogen glare.
Damp coats smell of the U-Bahn and old snow,
A fault line tracing your jaw in the air.

[Chorus]
And for a second, I found home
In the buzz of that fluorescent hum.
Just for a second, I found home,
Then I went beautifully numb.

[Verse 2]
On Kottbusser Damm, the wind cut so low.
You laughed at the frost on my beard.
I said, "You're my whole bedrock, you know?"
Then coughed, because the confession felt weird.

[Spoken Interlude]
(Female voice, distant, layered in reverb)
"You don't have to say it like it's a secret."

[Chorus]
And for a second, I found home
In the buzz of that fluorescent hum.
Just for a second, I found home,
Then I went beautifully numb.

[Bridge]
(Vocals completely dry, no reverb, very close)
All these years later, in this quiet room,
I'm still trying to unwreck that word.

[Outro]
Red dust settling in the halogen gloom.
The kindest thing I ever heard.