Herringbone Ghost

[Verse 1]
That second-floor walk-up off Passyunk is cold.
You run your finger on the warped window sill's mold.
You're hanging the one good photograph you own,
practicing the quiet of being alone.

[Pre-Chorus]
And you tell yourself it’s just a room, just a key.
Just a cheap rental in a future memory.

[Chorus]
Oh, you're just a herringbone ghost in a future I mend,
learning the lonely space where the stitches end.
A man I don't know yet, but I understand.

[Verse 2]
The radiator hisses its long, tired song,
the first Tuesday night, now that she is gone.
You whisper to the bare walls, "Guess we knew all along,"
wondering how a right key can feel so wrong.

[Pre-Chorus]
And you tell yourself it’s just a wall, just a floor.
Just a well-rehearsed pain you don't feel anymore.

[Chorus]
Oh, you're just a herringbone ghost in a future I mend,
learning the lonely space where the stitches end.
A man I don't know yet, but I understand.

[Bridge]
And isn't it strange, the work you put in?
Tailoring the sorrow before it even begins.

[Outro]
The herringbone ghost...
Where the stitches all end...