Songs for Erica

Verse 1

Someone stacked the chairs already gym lights buzzing overhead balloons caught up in the rafters waiting for the words you said

Pre-chorus

Hear the trumpets start to gather hear them climbing toward the door this whole room is turning toward you

Chorus

Happy birthday, Erica loud enough to shake the floor we came here just to hear a cheer that we've been saving for

Verse 2

Paper cups along the table someone spilled the lemonade every hand still finds a reason to raise a glass to what you've made

Chorus

Happy birthday, Erica loud enough to shake the floor we came here just to hear a cheer that we've been saving for

Bridge

Under a basketball hoop we're singing nothing fancy, just this crowd and every voice that's out of tune is still your name sung out loud

Chorus

Happy birthday, Erica loud enough to shake the floor we came here just to hear a cheer that we've been saving for

Outro

Fold the chairs up when we're finished but this cheer stays in that room

Verse 1

Footprints fading by the parked cars melting soft in yellow light you walked home under all those stars and somehow made the dark feel right

Pre-chorus

Another year is pulling near something warm cuts through the cold we're gathered close to have you here

Chorus

Erica, the room lights up you make the ordinary shine we're raising every cup for you Erica, you're one of a kind

Verse 2

The streetlamps hum their steady glow watching over where you've been you leave a mark on everyone you know brighter than the spaces in between

Pre-chorus

Another year is pulling near something warm cuts through the cold we're gathered close to have you here

Chorus

Erica, the room lights up you make the ordinary shine we're raising every cup for you Erica, you're one of a kind

Bridge

However far the night runs on we'll find you standing in the glow however long since we first met you that feeling never lets us go

Chorus

Erica, the room lights up you make the ordinary shine we're raising every cup for you Erica, you're one of a kind

Outro

Your footprints still are melting there proof that you were always here

Verse 1

Grey skies hanging low today Spades lean muddy by the shed But nobody minds the weather Cause you're the one thing we get glad for

Pre-chorus

Grab a hand and stomp the ground Let the fiddle kick around Something's coming, hear it building

Chorus

Erica, light up this old grey day Clap your hands, there's no other way We'd wait out here in any weather Just to hear a birthday song for Erica

Verse 2

Boots all caked in yesterday's rain Nobody cares, we're dancing anyway Shed door creaking open wide You walk in and the room gets brighter

Bridge

Every year the clouds roll through Every year we cheer for you Mud and all, we wouldn't change it Not one bit, not one small piece of it

Chorus

Erica, light up this old grey day Clap your hands, there's no other way We'd wait out here in any weather Just to hear a birthday song for Erica

Outro

Spades still leaning on the shed Grey skies clearing over your head

Verse 1

Foam is sliding soft and slow across the darkened sand tonight Somewhere far the water thuds so gentle in the fading light You are curled up warm and small beneath my waiting arm Nothing in this whole wide world could ever dim your quiet light

Pre-chorus

Every wave along the shore is settling down to rest Every breath you take tonight is soft against my chest Close your eyes and let the hush carry you along

Chorus

Erica, the night is holding you so near Nothing in the dark tonight is here to make you fear I will stay beside you till the morning comes around Erica, my love for you is deep and clear

Verse 2

Somewhere out beyond the window water folds upon the shore Soft as any lullaby that anyone has sung before You are safe here in the quiet, safer than you've ever known Sleep and let the gentle tide come knocking at the door

Chorus

Erica, the night is holding you so near Nothing in the dark tonight is here to make you fear I will stay beside you till the morning comes around Erica, my love for you is deep and clear

Bridge

Hush now, let the tide pull all your worries out to sea Rest here, nothing in this world could matter more to me

Chorus

Erica, the night is holding you so near Nothing in the dark tonight is here to make you fear I will stay beside you till the morning comes around Erica, my love for you is deep and clear

Outro

The foam will keep on sliding soft across the sand till day Sleep now, love, and let the quiet water carry you away

Verse 1

A quiet hum is rising from the wooden speaker's glow holding up the silence like a river soft and slow you are wrapped inside this evening, safe beneath the sound nothing hurried, nothing hollow, only calm around

Pre-chorus

Let your breathing find the rhythm that the room is keeping now close your eyes and let the humming show your body how the night has come to hold you gently, easy, anyhow

Chorus

Erica, the dark is kind and asking nothing of you sleep is only love without a single word to prove rest inside the hum that keeps on turning low and slow Erica, you're held by more than anyone could know

Verse 2

Somewhere in the corner something warm is softly turning round filling up the quiet with the gentlest kind of sound you don't need to understand it, only let it stay it will keep on humming softly while you drift away

Chorus

Erica, the dark is kind and asking nothing of you sleep is only love without a single word to prove rest inside the hum that keeps on turning low and slow Erica, you're held by more than anyone could know

Bridge

Wherever this small sound has come from, it was sent to keep you still every corner of this room was built around your rest until

Chorus

Erica, the dark is kind and asking nothing of you sleep is only love without a single word to prove rest inside the hum that keeps on turning low and slow Erica, you're held by more than anyone could know

Outro

The wooden speaker hums on softly long after you're asleep this quiet corner keeps the promise it was always meant to keep

Verse 1

Rain slips quiet down the window while the whole room settles still Nothing moves but tiny droplets tracing paths along the pane Curtains hold their breath beside you, calm as hands that mean no harm Close your eyes now, little Erica, there is nothing here to strain

Pre-chorus

Every drop that slides is gentle, every shadow soft and slow Warmth is folded round you tightly where the lamplight starts to glow Let the hush pull you in closer, let your breathing find its flow

Chorus

Erica, the night is holding you the way it always will Nothing here can reach you, nothing here can do you harm Sleep is only quiet water, sleep is only lying still Erica, you're safe inside this warm and windless calm

Verse 2

Somewhere past the glass the streetlights blur to soft and gold and round Not a single leaf is turning, not a single stirring sound You are heavier than dreaming, sinking gently to the ground Rest is just a door that opens, easy, without any bound

Bridge

Whatever moved today has settled, folded now and put away Only breathing left between us, only breathing till the day

Chorus

Erica, the night is holding you the way it always will Nothing here can reach you, nothing here can do you harm Sleep is only quiet water, sleep is only lying still Erica, you're safe inside this warm and windless calm

Outro

Somewhere still the rain keeps sliding, slow and steady down the glass Sleep now, Erica, so gently, let this quiet always last