[Intro — Upright Piano, Kettle Click, Low Guitar Swell]

[Verse 1]
Your coffee cooled beside the sink,
A lipstick crescent on the rim.
One shoe lay underneath the chair,
Your loosened ribbon on the stair.
The window shook when buses passed;
We bet the glass would never last.
You wore my shirt, too long, too wide,
And watched the morning climb inside.

[Pre-Chorus]
You left at ten to catch the train,
The window shook, then stilled again.
Your shape remained beside the door;
I took a notebook from the drawer.

[Chorus]
Perfume on the paper,
Your midnight in the air,
A trace along the collar
Of the shirt you used to wear.
I wrote, “Come back tomorrow,”
Then folded it away.

[Verse 2]
The kettle clicked. The hallway rang.
A neighbour's radio kicked in.
One hairpin glittered near the bed,
In window gold, a copper thread.
We chose pale green to paint the wall,
Though neither owned the place at all.
You drew two windows and a door,
Our crooked house on page four.

[Pre-Chorus]
I should have handed you the sheet
Before our plans outgrew that street.
Instead, I let the moment leave
And hid the line: “Come live with me.”

[Chorus]
Perfume on the paper,
Your midnight in the air,
A trace along the collar
Of the shirt you used to wear.
I wrote, “Come back tomorrow,”
Then folded it away.

[Piano Interlude — Four Notes, Then Full Band]

[Bridge]
“Stay when morning calls the train.
Bring your books; we'll paint the room.
Leave that crooked chair in place.
Hang your winter coat here too.”

[Final Chorus]
Perfume on the paper,
Still caught along the fold,
Dust softened every corner;
The hairpin lost its gold.
We drew two windows, you and me;
I was the one who hid the key.

[Outro — Piano and Room Tone]
I lift the page. The kettle clicks.
Cold coffee waits beside the sink.
For half a breath, the room still wears
Perfume on the paper.
