Broken Echoes Duet

Minimalpianoballadwithmale/femalevocalstradinglines.Startsparseandintimate,softpedalanddistantreverb;maleopensfirstverse,femaleanswers.Chorusblendsbothincloseharmony,withawarmcellopadswellingunderneath.Subtlebuildonsecondchoruswithlayeredoohsandasingle,achinghighnotetoclose,leavingalongtailofreverbandsilence.,sad

[Verse 1]
[low male vocal]
Coffee gone cold on the counter
Your name still lit on my phone
I replay that last September
Every word like a stone

[Verse 2]
[soft female vocal]
I still fold your side of the blanket
Talk to the dark like it’s you
Walk past the place where we ended
Street knows the truth

[Chorus]
[male + female together]
We were almost
We were always
Till the almost slipped away
Now I’m reaching through the silence
For a hand that doesn’t stay
Broken echoes in the hallway
All the things we couldn’t say
We were almost
We were always
Now we’re strangers anyway

[Verse 3]
[male vocal]
I keep your key on my keyring
Can’t bring myself to let go
Friends say I’m good
Say I’m healing
They don’t see what I know

[Verse 4]
[female vocal]
I wear that old faded sweater
Smells like a life that we planned
Laugh in the mirror
It trembles
Like it’s made out of glass

[Pre-Chorus]
[call-and-response]
[male] Did you keep my letters hidden?
[female] Did you burn them in the rain?
[male] Do you ever feel me near you?
[female] Or just the weight of my name?

[Chorus]

[Bridge]
[female lead
Male harmony]
If I call you at midnight
Would you let it just ring out
Or would you whisper that you miss me
Barely louder than your doubt

[male lead
Female harmony]
If we met like we were strangers
Would we choose it all again
Or would our hearts remember
How this story ends

[Chorus]

[Outro]
[bare male + female unison
Almost a whisper]
We were almost
We were always
Till the almost slipped away