Illinois After Midnight

Mood: Lonely city lights, warm but distant
Feel: Rhodes chords, soft percussion
[Intro – Instrumental]
Rhodes chords spill slow like streetlight glow
(Soft rim taps, distant brush)
[Verse 1 – Male Lead]
Corner cafés close their doors
Taxis hum past empty stores
Your name flickers in my phone
But some nights are meant alone
[Pre-Chorus – Female (Soft Harmony)]
Ooh… the city breathes
Ooh… quietly
[Chorus – Male Lead + Female Harmony]
Illinois after midnight
Feels warm but out of reach
Neon hearts don’t say much
They just flicker, then they leave
(Female: ooh… after midnight)
[Verse 2 – Male Lead]
Window lights like open scars
Every bar knows who we are
I sip time from a paper cup
Missing you without calling up
[Rhodes Fill – Instrumental]
(Short, unresolved chord run)
[Pre-Chorus – Female (Harmony)]
Ooh… don’t ask why
Ooh… we let it slide
[Chorus – Male Lead + Female Harmony]
Illinois after midnight
Every step echoes your name
I’m not broken, just drifting
In a city warm with rain
(Female: ooh… after midnight)
[Bridge – Male Lead (Low, Intimate)]
If I stayed, would it change a thing
Or just make the silence sing?
[Final Chorus – Both (Understated)]
Illinois after midnight
I let the long road speak
Some loves don’t need closure
They just fade… gently
(Female: ooh… after midnight)
[Outro – Instrumental]
Rhodes repeats, percussion fades
Last chord hangs — unresolved

Neo-Soul / Jazz trumpet