Center Stage, Stage Fright

Lyrics

[Intro]
Just the hum of the amp.
The dust in the beam.

[Verse 1]
Step up to the taped-out cross on the floor
I’ve been begging for this, pacing by the heavy door
Tapping the grille of a battered SM58
Waiting for the hush, leaning into the ache
It’s a beautiful heat when every eye in the room
Rises up to meet you in the velvet blue
You’re drinking me in, and I’m pouring the wine
I want the front row to memorize my design

[Chorus]
Center stage, but I'm holding a wire
Is it the glow of a star, or a house on fire?
Give me the spotlight, give me the stare
Strip away the curtain till there’s nothing to wear
I’m thriving in the center of the big bright night
But right behind the curtain is the sweet stage fright
Catching my breath, losing my script
Love it when the power in the building gets tripped

[Verse 2]
Now the glare is a little too sharp on the skin
Like a magnifying glass tracking where I've been
The silence is heavy, the applause is delayed
Are you cheering the act, or the mess that I made?
I’m frozen in the amber, a deer in the beam
Suddenly the fantasy is splitting at the seam
But I don't step back into the dark of the wings
I tremble at the microphone, and then I start to sing

[Chorus]
Center stage, but I'm holding a wire
Is it the glow of a star, or a house on fire?
Give me the spotlight, give me the stare
Strip away the curtain till there’s nothing to wear
I’m thriving in the center of the big bright night
But right behind the curtain is the sweet stage fright
Catching my breath, losing my script
Love it when the power in the building gets tripped

[Bridge]
Look at me. Don't look at me.
Keep your eyes glued to the tragedy.
I want the whole house hanging on my every word
Until the moment I realize
I’m actually being heard.

[Chorus]
Center stage, but I'm holding a wire
Is it the glow of a star, or a house on fire?
Give me the spotlight, give me the stare
Strip away the curtain till there’s nothing to wear
I’m thriving in the center of the big bright night
But right behind the curtain is the sweet stage fright
Catching my breath, losing my script
Love it when the power in the building gets tripped

[Outro]
Take a bow.
Watch the red velvet drop.
The terror and the thrill, I never want it to stop.
Dim the house lights.