Empty Doorways

[Intro – gentle acoustic guitar arpeggios, faint piano hum] (Instrumental Solo) [Verse 1 – quiet strummed guitar, soft kick drum] I still taste the chalk from that foster home wall The nun’s cold hand when she said “don’t call” They packed my clothes in a tattered old sack Said “this is better” but my chest cracked [Pre-Chorus 1 – building piano notes, subtle string swells] I learned to love with a locked-up heart Afraid the next good thing would fall apart Built a home with nails and glue Thought I finally outran the ghost of you [Chorus 1 – full acoustic band, warm cello undercurrent] Empty doorways, empty halls Every good love I ever had just falls First the cradle, then the bed Left with nothing but the words unsaid [Post-Chorus – wordless vocal hum, fading guitar] (Instrumental Solo) [Verse 2 – fingerpicked guitar, soft shaker rhythm] She walked in with sun in her hair Said “I see you” and I dared to care We had two kids, a dog, a picket fence I thought I’d finally found my defense [Pre-Chorus 2 – swelling piano, layered vocals] I tried to give them all I never got Tucked their fears away, forgot my own rot But the silence came when she packed her bags Said “I can’t love a man who still drags” [Chorus 2 – intensified strings, steady drum beat] Empty doorways, empty plates The kids’ drawings still hang by the gates First the foster mom, then my wife Left with only the quiet strife [Bridge – sparse piano, vulnerable vocal delivery] I sit alone at the kitchen table Trace the cracks where the love was able To hold on, to stay, to fight But I was always just too scared to try [Solo – weeping violin, soft guitar backing] (Instrumental Solo) [Final Chorus – full band, emotional peak] Empty doorways, empty days I count the scars from all the ways Love left me, one by one A kid in a man’s body, still undone [Outro – fading guitar, single piano note] The door creaks shut, the light grows thin I’m still waiting for someone to let me in