Track 3 of the album One More Verse Before the Lights Come Up · 2026
Count to Ten in the Corridor
by Wren Hallett
“There's a door at the end with frosted glass and a voice calling my name. I counted to ten, and then I went in.”
xinyao · xinyao-tinged folk · hopeful folk · 2:59
Lyrics
There's a door at the end with a window of frosted glass And a voice on the other side calling my name I've practised in the bathroom, I've practised on the bus My hands know the chords, and my heart knows the same I tuck my hair behind my ear I straighten up my collar and my spine The corridor smells of floor polish and rain And the minute is mine, the minute is mine Count to ten, count to ten Then I walk in like I've sung it before Count to ten, count to ten Let the room hear what I came here for If my voice shakes, let it shake It's still the one that I own Count to ten, count to ten And I'm not walking in alone My grandmother taught me to hum when I'm frightened To keep the tune low till the fear has gone by I hum it now, soft, in the long empty hallway And I feel myself rise like a kite in the sky Door handle cool beneath my palm A breath that fills me through Whatever happens in that room I'll still be me when I come through Count to ten, count to ten Then I walk in like I've sung it before Count to ten, count to ten Let the room hear what I came here for If my voice shakes, let it shake It's still the one that I own Count to ten, count to ten And I'm not walking in alone Nine, and ten And I walk in