Gears Lock

[Verse 1]
(Voicemail tone, then rushed, breathy voice)
Hey, it's 3:47 AM on the nose.
The deadbolt just turned. The air got cold.
I'm staring at the dent you kicked in the drywall last June.
Guess you always planned on leaving soon.

[Chorus]
(Mix explodes wide. Synths, stacked vocals, drums kick in)
How can the engine just seize when the tank is still full?
How can the frame just rust out from one little pull?
You stripped the gears on this love, now all that I hear
Is the knock in my chest you've been causing all year.

[Interlude]
(Sound of a tape rewinding, then a distorted, far-away female voice, as if from a memory)
"It's not you. I just... I can't breathe in this city anymore."
(Sound of a car door slamming shut)

[Verse 2]
(Back to tight, dry, mono vocal)
Your coffee's still warm on the radiator grate.
Smells like that place up on Main we both hate.
You said, "I just need some space," and you left the damn keys.
Are they a promise, or are you just torturing me?

[Chorus]
(Mix explodes wide again. More layers, harmonies are bigger, more desperate)
How can the engine just seize when the tank is still full?
How can the frame just rust out from one little pull?
You stripped the gears on this love, now all that I hear
Is the knock in my chest you've been causing all year.

[Bridge]
This is how the heavy quiet starts, right?
A headlight beam cutting through the wrong night.
A story my father won't tell, a story I'm starting to know.
The silence where a garden was supposed to grow.

[Outro]
(Vocals become quiet, single-tracked, breathy. A low 808 pulse fades.)
Anyway. Call me when the Passaic's frozen over.
(Click. Dial tone. A distant train horn wails and fades.)