Thirty-Six Months

Lyrics

[Verse 1] Charity hours bleeding into the afternoon Dust in the sunlight, summer ending too soon You wore a silver chain and a pin on your chest Seventeen years old, looking so unimpressed I kept my head down, sorted the mess in the hall Wishing I was older, or not breathing at all [Chorus] Thirty-six months between you and me A calendar folded where my courage should be You had one hand on the door, one foot in the past I counted every season, knowing none of it would last Thirty-six months, still pulling me through I was learning how to leave while I was looking at you [Verse 2] The vending machine coughed up a paper cup of tea You said, "Don't make a story out of what you see" But I carried that sentence home inside my sleeve A small, sharp souvenir I couldn't make myself leave By September, your name was gone from the wall Still I paused at the doorway, waiting for your call [Chorus] Thirty-six months between you and me A calendar folded where my courage should be You had one hand on the door, one foot in the past I counted every season, knowing none of it would last Thirty-six months, still pulling me through I was learning how to leave while I was looking at you [Bridge] Now the years have changed their shape in the glass I can say your name without asking it to last You were never the answer, never meant to be Just the first locked window I mistook for a key [Final Chorus] Thirty-six months between you and me Not a promise, not a wound, just a number I can see The summer kept moving, the hallway emptied out I became someone different from the child full of doubt Thirty-six months, laid down in the blue I was learning how to leave, and I finally left you [Outro] Charity hours fading into afternoon Dust in the sunlight, summer ending soon