You Saw the Singer Before I Did

Lyrics

Back row of the music room, the radiator ticked
I was mumbling through the chorus, hoping no one would look
You put your pencil down and you said, again, but louder
I thought you'd made a mistake with the boy who hid behind the choir

You gave me a Tuesday lunchtime and a battered upright keyboard
You gave me scales and patience and a window that stayed open
You never said I'd be anything, you only said, keep going
And the sound I'd been so scared of started learning how to travel

Now the lights come up on a hall I used to dream about
And I can almost see you standing near the door

You saw the singer before I did
You heard the song beneath my shy
You lent me a voice till I could find my own
And you never asked for anything but try
Every note I hold tonight is yours as well
Every breath that reaches the back of the hall
You saw the singer before I did
And you stayed until I stood up tall

I wrote you a letter once and never found the nerve to send it
So I'm keeping you in every line I sing
The radiator ticks in the quiet of the intro
And your voice says, from the back, again, my friend

You saw the singer before I did
You heard the song beneath my shy
You lent me a voice till I could find my own
And you never asked for anything but try
Every note I hold tonight is yours as well
Every breath that reaches the back of the hall
You saw the singer before I did
And you stayed until I stood up tall

Some people hand you a map
Some people hand you a door
You handed me both and a Tuesday
And I have not been lost since

You saw the singer before I did
You heard the song beneath my shy
You lent me a voice till I could find my own
And you never asked for anything but try
Every note I hold tonight is yours as well
Every breath that reaches the back of the hall
You saw the singer before I did
And you stayed until I stood up tall

Again, but louder
Again, and I will