After the warning comes a place where she can stop hiding. He tries to look composed; she catches his smile and brushes his palm. They both know how to hold themselves together, and how easily the other can undo that calm.

Light falls on the gold of a ring. A future becomes almost tangible: stay together, take your time, come home to one person. That promise fills the brightest chorus.

Then the music stops. Someone takes her arm and says her name. Her lover's hand slips out of hers. The arrest takes only a few words, yet changes everything we have just heard.

ALTA original song cycle

You have that look of practiced calm. I see the smile you're holding back. I let my fingers brush your palm, And there it is: the first small crack. You lean a little closer now. I like the warmth behind your eyes. You ask me what I'm smiling at. I say, "The part you can't disguise."

I've learned how much a name can hide. How much a voice can leave unsaid. With you, I set that world aside And let you read my heart instead.

Coffee, just for two. Take your time with me. Let the morning come and find us Where we both were meant to be. Coffee, just for two. Leave the world outside. All the warmth I keep from showing Comes alive here by your side.

You turn my hand to catch the light. A little gold, a life to share. I let you hold tomorrow tight. You have my word. I'll meet you there. Your thumb keeps time against my palm. My breath forgets its practiced pace. You make a mess of all my calm And draw that smile across my face.

I've learned how much a name can hide. How much a voice can leave unsaid. With you, I set that world aside And let you read my heart instead.

Coffee, just for two. Take your time with me. Let the morning come and find us Where we both were meant to be. Coffee, just for two. Leave the world outside. All the warmth I keep from showing Comes alive here by your side.

Say yes again. I like the sound. A future I can almost see. So many roads; and now I've found The one that brings you home to me.

Coffee, just for two. Take your time with me. Let the morning come and find us Where we both were meant to be. Coffee, just for two. Leave the world outside. All the warmth I keep from showing Comes alive here by your side.

Coffee, just for two.

They take my arm and say my name. Your hand slips out of mine.

In plain words

An adult love song in which wit, flirtation and desire open into trust. Coffee for two stands for the possibility of an ordinary future together. The brief, cold coda reveals what is being taken from her. The warmth of the song remains in the listener's memory and gives the later chapters their emotional stakes. Intimate jazz-soul with a buoyant triplet pulse, piano, upright bass, brushes, guitar and viola. Coffee, just for two / Take your time with me.

Barefoot

Coffee for Two

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