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Wired For: 🎧 Fenvian Child
(`NO COVERS`)
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Don't Change The Score On Me
(Verse 1)
You move the coffee cup a fraction left
A conversation dies before a breath
I’m clocking in, the moment I get home
Learning the lines for this new role you’ve drawn
I catalogue the pauses in your speech
Another shoreline sliding out of reach
I tidy up the feelings you don't claim
And try to guess the metrics of this game.
(Pre-Chorus)
And oh, I'm working twice as hard for half the pay
Patching the promises that fray
And I can feel the review coming, feel the chill
A space between us that you won't backfill...
(Chorus)
You said forever was the plan we’d keep
Don't change the score on me while I'm asleep
Don’t you rewrite the bottom line we knew
Tell me what I’m supposed to do
'Cause every morning is a quiet dread
A hundred metrics running in my head
You said that I was all you’d ever need
Don't change the score on me, I’m begging, please.
(Verse 2)
Remember summer, printed on the wall?
You cleared the pictures from the second shelf last fall
You said it was to make the hallway clean
But it's another asset I can’t redeem
I’m auditing the words inside your mouth
Navigating this new, hostile south
I built my world on infrastructure you designed
Now I’m afraid of what I'm going to find.
(Pre-Chorus)
And oh, I'm trying to outperform a ghost
Pretending that this isn't what hurts most
I can feel the severance in how you kiss
There wasn't a warning memo I could miss, was there?
(Chorus)
You said forever was the plan we’d keep
Don't change the score on me while I'm asleep
Don’t you rewrite the bottom line we knew
Tell me what I’m supposed to do
'Cause every morning is a quiet dread
A hundred metrics running in my head
You said that I was all you’d ever need
Don't change the score on me, I’m begging, please.
(Bridge)
Just be direct, this slow-burn serves no one
Tell me the quarter when the profit’s done
I'm not a headcount you can quietly reduce
I’m not a line-item you cut loose
I’m fighting here to keep my balance on the wire
Putting out a fire with a fire
Give me the numbers, stop the corporate speak
Am I your future, or the failure of the week?
(Final Chorus)
You said forever was the plan we’d keep!
Don't change the score on me while I'm asleep!
Don’t you rewrite the bottom line we knew!
What am I even supposed to do?
'Cause every morning is a poison dread!
Resigning from this fiction in my head!
You said that I was all you’d ever need!
Don't change the score on me! The score on me!
About The Song
This song translates the cold, pervasive anxiety of corporate “quiet layoffs” into the intimate language of a failing relationship. The central metaphor explores what it feels like to be silently managed out of someone's life—where the rules have changed without notice, performance is judged against unspoken metrics, and roles are slowly phased out. Instead of a dramatic breakup, it’s a slow, agonizing process of becoming obsolete. The protagonist is in a state of active struggle, frantically trying to learn the new 'job description' for the relationship to avoid being made redundant. Musically, it pulls from the dynamic quiet-to-loud explosion of artists like Benson Boone and the raw, soulful desperation of Teddy Swims, creating an 'Atmospheric Soul' ballad that builds from a nervous, observational whisper to a gut-wrenching plea.
Production Notes
Vocals: A large-diaphragm condenser mic like a Neumann U 87 is essential to capture the intimacy of the verses and the power of the chorus. Use a warm, colored preamp (Neve 1073-style). Verses should be tight, close-mic'd with minimal effects. Pre-chorus introduces a subtle slap delay to create tension. Chorus vocals should be belted, with audible vocal grit and stacked with two harmony layers panned at 40% L/R. Use parallel compression to maintain body and energy.
Arrangement: The song begins with just a sparse, felt piano and the vocal. In the pre-chorus, a syncopated, heartbeat-like kick drum enters with a filtered, looping electric guitar riff. The chorus explodes with a full band: a deep, driving P-bass, powerful live drums (think powerful room mics), and at least three layers of electric guitar—two rhythmic, gritty chords panned wide, and one central lead line that echoes the vocal melody. The bridge should strip back down to just piano and a single sustained guitar note before the final chorus hits with maximum impact, adding a shaker or tambourine to drive it home.
Mix Automation: Crucial for dynamics. Ride the vocal fader to keep it present. Automate the reverb send on the lead vocal, keeping it dry in verses and opening it up to a large hall reverb with a pre-delay in the chorus. During the bridge, automate a low-pass filter on the piano to make it feel distant, then sweep it open for the final chorus. Pan the background harmonies wider as the song progresses to create a sense of scale and desperation.
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