The Encore by Ben Day

Straightening the welcome mat
Cuz you left in such a hurry that you pushed it off its center
And you left me wondering whether or not I’m gunna fix it
Cuz it’s such a nice reminder of you
The more I sit and stare at it
The imbalance, and the dissonance sits heavy on my eyes now
And the less and less it tells me you were here, now, more, and more
Just that you’re gone
And I wonder what comes after this
I wonder if there’s more to this, cuz

I don’t wanna be here anymore
I don’t wanna be anywhere else
I don’t wanna see anyone
I don’t wanna be left to myself
I’m caught in the middle apathetic for sure
Cuz I don’t wanna be here anymore
But ya gotta stay, ya gotta stay now
You can’t miss the encore
You can’t miss the encore

Questioning the welcome mat
If I leave it, does it say that you can walk right in and come back anytime
Shall I hide it in the laundry room
No, I cannot close my heart to you, no matter how I try to shut you out

Oh, o, o
So, it stays outside, and I resign to let you in another time
And it’s breaking my heart
I know it’s cliché, but so far
It’s the only way I can explain away the pain
The way it feels to be the one you left behind
And I’m left with just the thoughts inside my mind

And I don’t wanna be here anymore
But I don’t wanna to be anywhere else
I don’t wanna see anyone

I don’t wanna be left to myself
I’m caught in the middle, as the pressure erupts

And I don’t wanna be here anymore
But I don’t wanna to be anywhere else
I don’t wanna see anyone
But I don’t wanna be left to myself
I’m caught in the middle, as the pressure erupts
And I don’t wanna be here anymore

But you gotta stay, you gotta stay
You can’t miss the encore
No, you can’t miss the encore

All this talk about a welcome mat
It’s just a place to wipe your feet before you come inside
It’s nothing more than that

Ben explains The Encore: “Sometimes life gets so hard that we don’t want to keep going. You don’t really want to die, but you don’t want to live anymore. The point is to keep going anyway, because better times are coming, and more is around the corner. Even when it feels like it’s all over, don’t miss “the encore.”