The Pedestal

[INTRO – spoken, close | whisper | “mystery / intimate” | minimal instruments | Male voice (lead)] Everybody looks perfect… when you only see the spotlight. [VERSE 1 – commercial, relatable | warm/contained | soft guitar/piano | steady groove | Male voice (lead)] I caught myself comparing, like it’s harmless fun, scrolling through their highlights when our day was done. I started grading us with somebody else’s lens— and I almost missed your hand reaching out again. That “perfect” on the outside? I bought it like a show, while love was right here… asking me to slow. [PRE-CHORUS 1 – slight lift | subtle tension | firmer vocal | light percussion enters | Male voice (lead)] From the front row, everything shines, but you never see the cost of the lights. [CHORUS – melodic | clear hook | full drums in | DUET (Male + Female) | soft backing vocals under last line] Male: ’Cause from the front, the theater glows, Female: but behind the curtain, wires show. Male: Tired eyes, missing scenes, Female: quiet cracks no one has seen. Both (harmonies): And I… I won’t trade what we are for a story I don’t know. Both (unison, hook): A pedestal looks beautiful— but it won’t hold you when you’re cold. [VERSE 2 – more heart, still commercial | slightly minor color | steady groove | Female voice (lead)] I felt that pressure too—like I had to compete, like love is a performance and I’m missing a beat. But I don’t need a stage to be enough for you, I need your eyes on mine when the real day hits through. If we’re gonna make it, let’s make it in the small— in the texts, the touch, the “I’m here” through it all. [PRE-CHORUS 2 – pause + tension | half-beat silence before entry | Male voice (lead)] No more measuring us by someone else’s glow— I’d rather be real with you than perfect for a show. [CHORUS 2 – stronger | add harmonies | DUET (Male + Female)] Male: ’Cause from the front, the theater glows, Female: but behind the curtain, wires show. Male: Tired eyes, missing scenes, Female: quiet cracks no one has seen. Both (harmonies): And I… I won’t trade what we are for a story I don’t know. Both (unison, hook): A pedestal looks beautiful— but it won’t hold you when you’re cold. [BRIDGE – drop down | near a cappella | cracked-but-controlled | minimal instruments | Female voice (lead)] That night I heard my own comparisons— the ones that sound small but bruise the room: “Why can’t you be like them?” “Why can’t you do it like that?” And I saw how cruel it is to use edited pictures to ask for a love that isn’t even real. So I held you and whispered, like fixing a window: “I’m sorry I asked you to be someone else. I want to practice us.” [FINAL CHORUS – big but human | full drums | DUET (Male + Female) | optional group shouts on last line] Male: From the front, the theater glows, Female: but behind the curtain, wires show. Male: Tired eyes, missing scenes, Female: quiet cracks no one has seen. Both (lift): And now… I’m done with the altars— I’m choosing you, no scorecards. Both (unison, landing): A pedestal looks beautiful— but it won’t hold you when you’re cold. (Backing optional) Less pedestal… more us. [OUTRO – spoken | solo guitar/piano | intimate close | Female voice (lead)] Less pedestal… more us.