Mr. Performative-Listener

Lyrics

[Intro]
There you are again.
The perfect student of my sentences.
Leaning in.

[Verse 1]
Monday. 9:17 AM.
The table is a long, dark mirror.
I'm talking numbers, projections, the year ahead.
And you... you are a statue of attention.
Your pen is moving, but not with my words.
You're perfecting your signature again, aren't you?

[Chorus]
Your eyes are locked on mine, a perfect lock.
But the room behind them is empty.
And you say 'uh-huh', with that little lift at the end.
A sound with a closed throat.
You're not here. You're just... waiting.
A listening mannequin, nodding in the draft.

[Verse 2]
Friday. The ice is clinking in your glass.
I'm telling you about my father, how the week was hard.
And you nod. A slow, considered motion.
But I see it. Your gaze slips.
Past my shoulder. To a better story.
A louder laugh across the room.
Your grip on the glass just a little too tight.

[Chorus]
Your eyes are locked on mine, a perfect lock.
But the room behind them is empty.
And you say 'uh-huh', with that little lift at the end.
A sound with a closed throat.
You're not here. You're just... waiting.
A listening mannequin, nodding in the draft.

[Bridge]
What are you building in there?
Behind the nod, behind the steady gaze?
The perfect rebuttal? The witty turn of phrase?
You're not listening to me. You're listening to *you*.
Rehearsing the sentence that will prove you right.
The one you've been composing this whole time.

[Outro]
The conversation ends.
You smile. A perfect smile.
And you say the line you wrote.
And I just... let it land.
In the quiet room.
Where I was talking to myself.
Uh-huh.