Like a Book Upon a Shelf

Instrumental Intro

Verse 1

Something arrived on a Tuesday

or the day that felt like one

folded twice inside a coat

that may or may not have been mine

I found it three winters later

in a box I never opened

or maybe one I opened

every single day

Pre-Chorus

The ink had blurred to gray

where the rain got through the seam

and I stood there in the kitchen

or somewhere like a kitchen

Chorus

Whoever wrote this knew me

before I knew myself

put the words inside a pocket

like a book upon a shelf

and I read it like a stranger

till the stranger turned around

and the voice behind the letters

was the only other sound

Post-Chorus

(Whoa-oh, whoa-oh)

Read it back to me

(Whoa-oh, whoa-oh)

Who I used to be

Verse 2

I turned the paper over

looking for a name

a date, a town, a promise

that would tell me who to blame

The handwriting was hurried

like the writer had to run

from something in the hallway

or the sound of someone's son

Pre-Chorus

And the crease was worn and soft

where a thumb had pressed it flat

so I pressed it flat again

Chorus

Whoever wrote this knew me

before I knew myself

put the words inside a pocket

like a book upon a shelf

and I read it like a stranger

till the stranger turned around

and the voice behind the letters

was the only other sound

Post-Chorus

(Whoa-oh, whoa-oh)

Read it back to me

(Whoa-oh, whoa-oh)

Who I used to be

Guitar Solo

Verse 3

So I sat down at the table

with a pen I hadn't used

wrote a letter to the writer

of the note I couldn't lose

Told them that I found it

told them that I read it slow

told them if they're listening

they already know

Pre-Chorus

'Cause the crease was worn and soft

where a thumb had pressed it flat

so I pressed it flat again

Chorus

Whoever wrote this knew me

before I knew myself

put the words inside a pocket

like a book upon a shelf

and I read it like a stranger

till the stranger turned around

and the voice behind the letters

was the only other sound

Post-Chorus

(Whoa-oh, whoa-oh)

Read it back to me