Don't Loop Twice

Lyrics

[Intro]

Hey, spiral notebook on my desk,
it's 3 AM again, March 2023,
Judson Brewer whispering in my ear
from that book on the shelf.

[Verse 1]
You're filled with the same phrases,
'what if' scribbled seventeen times
before the hour hand moves.
Cold chamomile tea in the mug beside you,
stale coffee scent clinging to your pages.
Flickering lamp casts shadows over sticky notes,
each one a loop I can't escape.

[Chorus]
Don't loop twice, don't loop twice,
break the prediction machine,
Judson said our brains get stuck
on uncertain rewards.
Put down the chewed pen cap,
silence the buzzing phone,
don't loop twice tonight.

[Verse 2]
In this cluttered office, 18 degrees Celsius,
blanket wrapped tight around my shoulders,
I address you, my worn-out companion,
filled with worries from early 2020s nights.
The wall clock ticks, each second a trigger,
replaying that single thought, undocumented traumas
hiding in your spirals.

[Bridge]

Pause halfway, like that app on the screen,
breathe in the musty paper smell,
let the default mode network quiet down,
as Brewer mapped in 2011.
No more missing perspectives,
no more gaps in the record.

[Verse 3]
You're not just paper and ink,
you're the habit loop embodied,
late-night notifications pulling me back.
But tonight, I close you gently,
set you beside the half-empty mug,
whisper to the flickering light.

[Chorus]
Don't loop twice, don't loop twice,
break the prediction machine,
Judson said our brains get stuck
on uncertain rewards.
Put down the chewed pen cap,
silence the buzzing phone,
don't loop twice tonight.

[Outro]

3 AM stillness, finally,
no more spirals,
just breath.