[Verse 1 — slow, just banjo and voice]

The gravel used to crunch beneath my shoes

Along that stone-laid path at end of day

The string lights caught the last of amber hues

And olive branches held the dusk at bay

The ferns grew thick along the cedar boards

The palms stood tall like they were keeping time

A white tent glowed beyond the iron cords

And everything was still and everything was mine

[Chorus — mandolin and upright bass enter, harmonies tight and high]

Elijah, do you remember that courtyard

The way the sky went purple into gold

The little iron chairs and the gravel yard

And how the evening swallowed what we told

The string lights, Elijah, the string lights

[Verse 2 — half-time, hushed — mandolin alone]

The ornamental grasses caught the breeze

In slow rows down the center of that walk

A stop sign red against the darkening trees

And we found every reason not to talk

Just sitting in the warmth of someone's care

The wood-frame porch, the steps worn smooth and gray

I think I left a version of me there

Between the roots and end of Saturday

[Chorus — full band returns, upper harmony pushed hard]

Elijah, do you remember that courtyard

The way the sky went purple into gold

The little iron chairs and the gravel yard

And how the evening swallowed what we told

The string lights, Elijah, the string lights

[Instrumental Break — banjo leads, mandolin chases, bass walks low and steady beneath; let it breathe two full turns before fading to silence]

[Bridge — a cappella, bare and close, then a single bass note drops in like a held breath]

The lamps came on before the sun was gone

The way things glow before they disappear

We sat a little longer, stayed a little long

That hour had a weight I still can hear

[Final Chorus — stripped back, lead vocal raw, harmonies entering only on the last line]

Elijah, do you remember that courtyard

The way the sky went purple into gold

The little iron chairs and the gravel yard

And how the evening swallowed what we told

The string lights, Elijah, the string lights

[Tag — held, breath-near — voice alone, no instrument]

The gravel, the olive, the amber, the chair

Elijah, I left something there

THE · TALK · OF · THE · TOWN