GHOST IN THE AFTERGLOW

(INSTRUMENTAL INTRO — VINTAGE SYNTHESIZERS, PULSING BASS, DISTANT ELECTRIC GUITAR, NO VOCALS)

(VERSE 1 — MALE SOLO, SOFT, DETACHED, SLIGHTLY ROBOTIC)

Midnight painted on the glass
I saw a stranger watching back
Same old coat, same tired eyes
But I was standing on the other side

The traffic moved without a sound
The moon was hanging upside down
You whispered something through the blue
A name I knew, but never knew

(PRE-CHORUS — VOICE BECOMES MORE EMOTIONAL, SYNTHS SLOWLY RISING)

And every clock began to bend
Like time was trying to pretend
That we had met a thousand times
In other lives, in other lights

(CHORUS — CATCHY, HYPNOTIC MELODY, LAYERED MALE HARMONIES)

You’re a ghost in the afterglow
Someone I lost but I don’t know
I reach for you, you turn to light
Then disappear before my eyes

Oh, I can feel you in the wires
A little spark, a dying fire
If you’re a dream, don’t let me wake
You’re the only real mistake

(POST-CHORUS — BREATHY VOCAL LAYERS, DELAYED AD-LIBS)

Oh-oh, afterglow
(Afterglow, afterglow)
Where did you go?
(Where did you go?)

Ah-ah, don’t let me go
I’m falling through the radio

(VERSE 2 — MALE SOLO, MORE RHYTHMIC, COOL AND RESTRAINED)

Your photograph was warm to touch
Though no one knew you ever existed
Your voice came through a broken phone
Said, “You’re not lost, you’re just alone”

I followed footprints in the rain
They led me back to you again
But in the mirror, something changed
My face was yours, my eyes were strange

(PRE-CHORUS — BUILDING TENSION, SOFT HIGH HARMONIES)

And every street began to glow
The same red light, the same cold snow
You held my hand, the world stood still
Then slipped away against my will

(CHORUS — FULLER SYNTHS, DOUBLE-TRACKED LEAD VOCAL)

You’re a ghost in the afterglow
Someone I lost but I don’t know
I reach for you, you turn to light
Then disappear before my eyes

Oh, I can feel you in the wires
A little spark, a dying fire
If you’re a dream, don’t let me wake
You’re the only real mistake

(INSTRUMENTAL BREAK — DRIVING VINTAGE SYNTH BASS, FILTERED DRUMS, DREAMLIKE ELECTRIC GUITAR)

(BRIDGE — ALMOST WHISPERED MALE VOCAL, EERIE VOCAL DOUBLES)

Maybe I was never here
Maybe you were always near
Maybe every life I’ve known
Was just a way to lead me home

(Lead me home… lead me home…)

I see the sunrise in your skin
A thousand endings caving in
You say my name, the lights go black
I feel your hand pull me back

(FINAL CHORUS — EMOTIONAL LIFT, WIDE HARMONIES, LAYERED AD-LIBS)

You’re a ghost in the afterglow
The only face I’ve ever known
I reach for you, you turn to light
But this time you don’t say goodbye

I feel you burning through the wires
We are the smoke, we are the fire
If this is where the real things fade
I’ll haunt the dream that we once made

(AD-LIBS — SOFT, OVERLAPPING, SPACED THROUGH THE FINAL BARS)

Don’t fade away… (don’t fade away)
I know your face… (I know your face)
Somewhere in time…
Your hand in mine…

(OUTRO — BEAT FALLS AWAY, FILTERED SYNTH AND DISTANT VOCAL ECHOES)

Ghost in the afterglow…
(Afterglow…)

Were you ever real?
(Did I ever feel?)

Ghost in the afterglow…
I think I know you…

(Or maybe… I don’t.)

(INSTRUMENTAL END — SYNTH NOTE SLOWLY FADES INTO SILENCE)