I Light a Star

Intro

Lantern smoke on paper stars, a bell that never tolled (hmm)

My breath draws small constellations on your jacket sleeve

I hand you a folded note that says nothing at all

You turn it over like a secret door, like a promise I'll leave

Verse

There are wooden names nailed to a stall like crossing guards

A mitten pinned to a ribbon, embroidered with somebody's laugh

Chestnuts smoke and slip between the teeth of the crowd

I count the spaces where your footprint should have been, then I let the night laugh

A boy trades marbles for a shadow, trades a coin for a song

The vendor hums a tune I learned in a language I forgot

I smile with the knife of memory, thin and bright (oh-oh)

And fold that smile into my pocket like an unpaid note

Pre-chorus

You watch the lanterns tilt, (watch) they don't fall

You read my silence like a map with no roads

I send the signals sideways, in the steam of a mug, in the curl of smoke

I say come closer (come), but I say don't move — I say don't move

Chorus

I light a star and watch it stutter in the gutter, sing, oh-oh

I tell the story loud enough that you can’t pretend you didn't hear (yeah)

I hold the last candle up until it bends and becomes a stranger's name (hold)

Then I fold it, fold it, fold it — like a letter that won't burn

I light a star and watch it stutter in the gutter, sing, oh-oh

I tell the story soft enough that you won't know who's to blame (uh)

I hold the last candle up until it bends and goes away (goes away)

I fold it, fold it, fold it — and pass it on (na-na, na-na)

Verse

A carousel with horses missing eyes spins slower than the news

I buy two paper cranes and leave one at the foot of a closed door

There is a ledger on the counter, every name washed in cinnamon

I trace a line that might be yours, then I cross it out because I doubt more

The air tastes like a story told with a missing middle, like a song unsaid

A child trades his mitten for a wish he can't keep

You stand at the edge of market light, a silhouette in draft, (hmm)

I send you an invitation written on a napkin and wilted like a leaf

Pre-chorus

You tilt your head and read the corners where I lie (lie)

You answer in the little gestures — a wink, a pause, a backhand smile

I press a paper star into your palm and tell you it's warm (it's warm)

I ask you questions in the way the bells ask the night for something to hold

Chorus

I light a star and watch it stutter in the gutter, sing, oh-oh

I tell the story loud enough that you can’t pretend you didn't hear (yeah)

I hold the last candle up until it bends and becomes a stranger's name (hold)

Then I fold it, fold it, fold it — like a letter that won't burn

I light a star and watch it stutter in the gutter, sing, oh-oh

I tell the story soft enough that you won't know who's to blame (uh)

I hold the last candle up until it bends and goes away (goes away)

I fold it, fold it, fold