[INTRO](Cover)

[INTRO] (glockenspiel shimmer, soft guitar) (spoken/sung): hey… there you are. (soft hum) “mm…” [VERSE 1] I found you on the hill where the rooftops look like toys, hands in your pockets, quiet like you’re saving all your noise. The town is new and sharp and loud, it bites your sleeves with cold, so you count the world in pictures like a secret you can hold. Yellow house, the broken wall, the bus that loves to honk, I talk enough for both of us, you blink and I don’t stop. You don’t have to say a word to tell me what you mean, you flip a page, you lift your eyes— oh you say I’m here, and I realize I’m seen. [PRE-CHORUS] Red card means “no,” green means “okay,” I can learn your rhythm, I can slow my brain. If the world gets heavy, we’ll make it small, just you and me and winter walls. (tiny laugh, breathy) “huh—” [CHORUS] Light is warm, light is warm, even when the sky is steel and the streets are storm. Put it in a jar, put it where you are, for the ones who stay and the ones who’re gone. We don’t need big words, we don’t need a song that hurts— we just need a glow that doesn’t run. Light is warm, light is warm, and tonight we’re not alone. (soft hum on the last note) “mm-mm…” [VERSE 2] Your dad’s got tired in his shoulders, he’s hauling whole years, stairs and hospitals and countries, swallowing his tears. Old friends talk too fast, say the wrong thing, laugh and look away, grown-ups do their clumsy dancing, never knowing what to say in this little stupid town. But in the courtyard there are candles, cinnamon in steam, and Lore’s hands keep making order out of wire, glue, and green. A crooked apple tree is there, it’ll be your friend too, and I swear the cold backs off a little when the lights stay on. [PRE-CHORUS 2] If the bells are too much, we’ll step aside, if the memories shout, I’ll talk them small. You can tap my sleeve, you can show “stop,” and I’ll listen like it matters— I promise—because it does. (quick “hm” + small giggle) “hm… heh.” [CHORUS] Light is warm, light is warm, even when the sky is steel and the streets are storm. Put it in a jar, put it where you are, for the ones who stay and the ones who’re gone. We don’t need big words, we don’t need a song that hurts— we just need a glow that doesn’t run. Light is warm, light is warm, and tonight we’re not alone. [BRIDGE] (music thins; soft strings, distant bell) There’s a cross by the path and it stares like the night, and the hill pulls at you like slipping on ice. I grabbed your hand too hard—sorry, I run when I’m scared too, but you stayed, and you breathed, and the world held through. So we passed it, we passed it, and the streetlamp turned gold, trying to lead us home. (steady hum, held note) “mmmm…” [FINAL CHORUS] Light is warm, light is warm, we’ll hang the star where the window keeps it strong. Set your little flame by the apple tree, let it tell the dark: you don’t own me. And in March, in March, we’ll plant a cherry tree and let it start. For the hands we miss, for the names we keep, for the future we’re learning how to meet— things she wanted us to know. Light is warm, light is warm, and I’ll find you every time— (bright laugh sample) “ha—!” —every time. [OUTRO] (glockenspiel, gentle guitar; fade) I talk, you shine. We’ll be fine.