Du bist der Grund

Verse 1
Late-shift lights hum at the corner store,
Plastic floors shine like a brittle smile.
He sets twelve cans of beer on the counter—no more,
Pays in silence, eyes fixed on the tile.
The clerk scans each tin with a hollow beep,
And I feel the tremor that he’s trying to keep
Somewhere deep, where the feedback sleeps,
Telling him he’s outside the line.

Pre-Chorus 1
There’s a chorus in his head that keeps on shouting “prove you’re fine,”
While the world just scrolls on past him like a fraying neon sign.

Chorus
So he drinks down the volume, lets the noise grow dim,
Twelve small tickets to mute the algorithm.
When the network won’t let you log in,
You pull the plug and drown the din.
But maybe all it takes to bend that line—
A simple “Hey, I see you,” offered in kind.

Verse 2
I’ve walked that aisle in a different skin,
Scanning shelves for a softer night,
Thinking if I could numb what’s echoing within,
I might outrun the lonely light.
’Cause when you stand at the edge of the human grid,
The pings come back like you never did—
A negative loop you can’t outbid,
So you medicate the static away.

Pre-Chorus 2
Every sip’s a tiny shutdown, every gulp a rubber band,
Pulling tight around the heartbreak no one else can understand.

Chorus
Yeah, he drinks down the volume, lets the noise grow dim,
Twelve small tickets to mute the algorithm.
When the network won’t let you log in,
You pull the plug and drown the din.
But maybe all it takes to bend that line—
One open face that meets his eyes in line.

Bridge
We don’t need to solve his maze tonight,
No grand rescue, no bright searchlight.
Just a nod that says, “You exist to me,”
Can loosen one loop in the circuitry.

(Soft instrumental — guitar breathes, organ swells and recedes.)

Final Chorus
’Cause he’s drinking down the volume, night after night,
Trying to quiet the code that says he’s not wired right.
But if we leave one small port open,
Let a little signal in—
Maybe the loop goes slack,
Maybe the tide rolls back,
And twelve cans won’t have to keep the world on spin.

Outro
Cash drawer closes, doors hiss wide—
I catch his eye, just nod, “Goodnight.”
A tired smile flickers, then he steps outside—
Maybe that’s enough to start the rewrite.

### License
This track (both music and lyrics) is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

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“Twelve Cans – Emergence – https://soundcloud.com/emergence-223803727/twelve-cans-lonely-loop-free-download – CC BY 4.0”
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Enjoy!

If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time

R. Kelly