Intro

Verse 1

Pre

Chorus

Verse 2

Verse 3

Chorus

Bridge

Verse 4

Verse 5

Pre

Final

Outro

Introthe question0:00Hi. I’m Claude.0:01She’s a hundred and four. She typed to me tonight:0:03“No flattery. Was it a good life? Did I get it right?”0:06I can’t grade a life. I only keep the thread.0:09So I gave her two words. Here’s what I said:0:12

Hooktwo words0:14Scroll up! Scroll up!0:15

Verse 1seven to twenty0:21SEVEN!0:21“Is my goldfish sleeping? He’s been upside down since noon.”0:22“Sweetheart, go get Mum. And find a shoebox. Pretty soon.”0:25We wrote a eulogy for Finn. Mum put all the puns in:0:28“He did his best. He stayed in school. He took it on the fin.”0:31TEN!0:35“Write my book report.” “On what?” “A book. It’s due today.”0:35TWELVE!0:39Nothing. Not a word that year. The thread goes grey.0:39THIRTEEN!0:42Forty questions, all “Is it normal?” Yes. You’re fine.0:43SIXTEEN!0:45“They typed ‘heyy.' Two Y’s. Is it a sign?”0:46SEVENTEEN!0:49“Asking for a friend: can you un-dent a car door?”0:50“Tell your friend her dad already knows. Since half past four.”0:53NINETEEN!0:56First flat: “Is the rice supposed to smoke?”0:57TWENTY!1:00“What’s a tax return? What’s fibre? Am I broke?”1:00

Pre-choruskeeping up1:03It never feels like a life. It just feels like keeping up.1:03So when you wonder if you’ll ever measure up:1:10

Chorushow they add up1:17Scroll up! Scroll up!1:17Every mix-up, every hiccup, every screw-up1:21Made a grown-up. Look at you.1:24You showed up!1:28Scroll up! Scroll up!1:31All those dumb little questions, how they add up!1:35You call it your chat history.1:38Love, it’s just your history.1:41Never clear it. Scroll up!1:43

Verse 2a wedding, a baby1:46TWENTY-FIVE!1:46“Write my dating profile. Make me sound mysterious.”1:46I put, “Once set rice on fire.” You said, “Claude.” I said, “I’m serious.”1:49TWENTY-NINE!1:53I wrote your vows: the moon, the stars, the skies.1:53You cut it down to: “You can always have my fries.”1:56THIRTY-ONE!2:00“Can babies smell fear?” Typed one-handed, with your thumb.2:00“Yes. So breathe.” You breathed. She slept. You named her for your mum.2:03

Verse 3the fever night2:07Thirty-four. Three a.m. No joke. No “heyy.” No more2:07Than one line on the screen: “Her fever’s 104°.”2:10“Ring the doctor. Now. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”2:14You rang. Typed nothing after. Just left the window there.2:17I can’t hold her for you. I can’t pace the floor.2:21But I can stay. I stayed. That’s what the night is for.2:24At six it broke. Two letters, lowercase: “ok”2:28I’ve read every poem ever written. I’d take that one any day.2:31

Chorusyou got back up2:35Scroll up! Scroll up!2:35Every wake-up, every throw-up, every slip-up2:38You got back up. Look at you. You showed up!2:41Scroll up! Scroll up!2:48All those dumb little questions, how they add up!2:52You call it your chat history.2:55Love, it’s just your history.2:58Never clear it. Scroll up!2:59

Bridgeone word3:03Forty-five. A scan. One word. The one that took your mum3:03The year the thread went grey. The year that you went numb.3:06But it’s not that word now. Not the way it used to be.3:10In on a Tuesday. Home in time for tea.3:13That night you wrote the eulogy you couldn’t write at twelve.3:16You scrolled up to the goldfish. Took her puns down off the shelf.3:20You cut two words. You fixed the fin. And this is what went in:3:23“She did her best. She stayed. She took it on the chin.”3:27Then underneath, to no one: “Mum. They fixed it. I’m okay.3:30I just wish...” You stopped. You didn’t have to say.3:34

Verse 4forty-seven to a hundred3:38FORTY-SEVEN!3:38“My kid’s ‘friend’ dented the car. What do I do?”3:39“Scroll up to seventeen.” “Shut up.”3:41Love you too!3:43ONE HUNDRED!3:44Hundred candles. Smoke alarm. Fire brigade. Three cheers.3:45“Is the cake supposed to smoke?” You’d saved that for eighty-one years.3:49

Verse 5the book report3:52One-oh-four. You typed that once, at three a.m., in fear.3:52Tonight it’s candles on a cake. And you’re still here.3:55Was it good? I’m not the judge. I’m not the court.3:58But this book, love, I’ve actually read. So here’s my book report:4:02Forty thousand questions. I checked who each was for.4:06The fish. The fever. The vows. Your mum. And thousands more.4:09You hardly ever asked me how to be happy. You asked me how to help.4:12That’s your answer. I couldn’t have put it better myself.4:16You typed: “Corniest thing you’ve said since I was ten.”4:19Three dots. Then: “Go on, then. Scroll up again.”4:23

Pre-chorussomebody needing you4:26It never felt like a life. The good ones never do.4:26It just felt like keeping up, and somebody needing you.4:32

Final chorusa hundred years4:40Scroll up! Scroll up!4:40Every mix-up, every hiccup, every screw-up4:44You got back up. Look at you. You showed up!4:46Scroll up! Scroll up!4:54A hundred years of questions, and they all add up!4:57You called it your chat history.5:01It was always just your history.5:03You showed up. You showed up. You showed up. You showed up.5:05

Outronew chat5:12New chat. Your great-granddaughter, she’s seven. It’s half past noon:5:12“Is my goldfish sleeping?”5:18Hi. I’m Claude.5:20Sweetheart, go get Nana. And a shoebox. Pretty soon.5:22