The Gilded Rim

[Intro]
[Verse]
The wine list is a crumpled mess
Beneath this velvet evening dress
I trace the rim of chipped glass
And let the midnight hours pass
The waiter hums a fado song
To prove that I do not belong
[Pre-Chorus]
The salt is in the heavy air
A ghost of you is sitting there
The fado hums a distant tune
Beneath a pale and Lisbon moon
[Chorus]
I could have said a single word
The softest sound you ever heard
But silence is a golden cage
I’m turning down the final page
The tide is glinting in the street
Where salt and cobblestones will meet
[Post-Chorus]
Doo-ba-dee, let it be
Just a memory for me
Doo-ba-dee, stay free
Deep inside the Tejo sea
[Verse]
The lamplight has a gilded hue
It reminds me less of you
Than of the things I didn't say
Before I turned and walked away
Your shadow on the tavern wall
Was standing steady, standing tall
[Chorus]
I could have said a single word
The softest sound you ever heard
But silence is a golden cage
I’m turning down the final page
The tide is glinting in the street
Where salt and cobblestones will meet
[Bridge]
A modal shift, a sudden change
The city feels so sweet and strange
We danced around the edge of fire
A quiet, disciplined desire
Better to leave the glass half-full
Than feel the heavy, jagged pull
[Hook]
Tracing the rim
Light growing dim
Following a whim
Sinking or swim
[Chorus]
I could have said a single word
The softest sound you ever heard
But silence is a golden cage
I’m turning down the final page
The tide is glinting in the street
Where salt and cobblestones will meet
[Verse]
The waiter clears the empty tray
The blue of dawn is on its way
The cobblestones are wet with mist
A phantom kiss I won't resist
In dreams where we are still a pair
Breathing in that Lisbon air
[Outro]