Where London Used to Be

[Intro – soft, broken voice]
I keep saying I’ll go home…
but home doesn’t answer anymore
Only the trains still whisper through the dark… and never for me

[Verse 1]
I remember mornings by the river’s edge
Steam on the glass as we rushed through the fogged-up ledge
The city would shake when the trains rolled in
Like a heartbeat buried under London’s skin
Underground lamps and the tunnel’s glow
Oil-lit shadows where the people would flow
“Mind the gap,” they’d say with a smile
Like the world could break and still be worthwhile

[Pre-Chorus]
They told us not to look back too long
But how do you leave when the place is gone?
Not burned, not broken, not turned to dust
Just emptied of everyone it used to trust

[Chorus]
I miss London like it’s still alive
Like I could still catch the train at night
Hear the steam breathe through iron and stone
And feel like I was never alone
But it’s quiet now in a way that hurts
Like the city forgot what it used to be worth
And I’m still here, but I don’t belong
In a place that keeps pretending it’s not gone

[Verse 2]
I stand where the platforms used to shake
Waiting for trains that will never wake
The Underground lamps in a trembling line
Throwing weak light through forgotten time
Stations echo under lamp-lit gloom
With voices that faded too soon from the room
“Mind the gap,” but the gap is wide
And nothing returns from the other side

[Pre-Chorus 2]
We don’t say her name out loud anymore
But the silence remembers it more and more
Every rail line under the broken sky
Still thinks it’s time for another ride

[Chorus]
I miss London like it’s still alive
Like I could still catch the train at night
But the tracks lead nowhere I understand
Just echoes passing through empty land
And I carry it like a wound in my chest
A city that never learned how to rest
I’m still here, but I don’t belong
In a place that keeps pretending it’s not gone

[Bridge – almost spoken, fragile]
Sometimes I hear it beneath my feet
Like steel remembering every beat
And I swear if I close my eyes too tight
I can ride it back into the night
But I open them and there’s nothing there
Just lamp-lit shadows and broken air
And “Mind the gap” comes back again
Like the city is speaking through what was then

[Final Chorus – soft, fading]
I miss London like it’s still alive
Like the trains still run through the night
But the platforms are empty, the rails don’t sing
And nothing returns when the tunnels ring
So I walk through a city that used to be mine
With a memory lost on a broken line
I’m still here, but I don’t belong
In a city that’s gone… but feels so strong

Dark K-pop ballad, female vocals, piano, strings, steam whistles, oil lamps, underground ambience, echoing trains, cinem