Before You, There Was Silence

[Verse 1]
I used to hum in empty rooms
Talking to the shadows on my wall
Laughing at my own small jokes
Just to hear something at all
[Verse 2]
I used to sip my tea too slow
Staring at a chair that stayed clean
Saving half my stories
For a stranger in a dream
[Pre-Chorus]
Thought I was fine
I was floating
Light on the surface
Drifting in place
Didn’t know what I was holding
Till your smile walked into my space
[Chorus]
Before you
There was silence
(there was silence)
Little gaps between the days I couldn’t name
You put color in the quiet
(color in the quiet)
Now every empty corner knows your name
You were the piece that I kept missing
The open arms in every song I never sang
Now we’re filling all the spaces
All the spaces that I never knew I had
[Verse 3]
I used to fall asleep halfway
Through every movie
Every line
‘Cause no one there to lean into
When the sad parts took their time
[Verse 4]
I used to cook for two
Then one
Left your side of the plate in my mind
Setting down a second spoon
Like a promise I couldn’t find
[Pre-Chorus]
I told myself I liked the quiet
The single key hanging by the door
Didn’t know what I was missing
Till your footsteps found my floor
[Chorus]
Before you
There was silence
(there was silence)
Little gaps between the days I couldn’t name
You put color in the quiet
(color in the quiet)
Now every empty corner knows your name
You were the piece that I kept missing
The open arms in every song I never sang
Now we’re filling all the spaces
All the spaces that I never knew I had
[Bridge]
You: I was half a prayer
Half a laugh
Me: I was half a bed
Half a path
You: Now your toothbrush by my window
Me: Your sweater on my chair
Both: All these little living proofs
That we were meant to share
[Chorus]
Before you
There was silence
(before you)
Now our voices wrap around the same small room
You put color in the quiet
(you put color)
Turned my lonely into something soft as June
You were the piece that I kept missing
The gentle hand that reached and never let me fall
Now we’re filling all the spaces
Every space
Every space
Now we’re filling all the spaces
And I’m grateful I can’t find the edge at all

Slow soul-reggae ballad duet, warm male/female vocals. Lazy offbeat guitar skank with soft organ pads and round bass; brushed rimshots and deep, cozy kick. Verses stay sparse with close-mic, intimate delivery; choruses bloom into overlapping harmony lines and call-and-response ad-libs. Subtle horn swells and airy reverb on key phrases; final chorus adds stacked backing vocals and a lingering, tender outro vamp., reggae, ballad, soul, warm, gentle