Nervous Start

[Verse 1]
Your name sits folded in my coat
The door swings wide; I lose my note
Did I shake hands too long or not enough?
My smile feels borrowed, stiff and tough
You ask me what I do these days
I hear my answer lose its shape

[Pre-Chorus]
I replay the first five seconds
Like a tape chewed in the deck
Was I warm, was I strange?
Did I leave the wrong impression again?

[Chorus]
Tell me, did I come off wrong?
I was trying to be easy, trying to belong
One small pause and my mind writes it all down
I can’t keep dragging that first moment around
If you saw me past the nervous start
Would you still make room for my heart?

[Verse 2]
The cup sweats rings across the table
I laugh a beat too late, then stop
Your story keeps moving without me
While I count each word I dropped
I search your face for a verdict
You’re just looking for the sugar

[Pre-Chorus]
I replay the first five seconds
Like a tape chewed in the deck
Maybe you were nervous too
Maybe there’s no score to check

[Chorus]
Tell me, did I come off wrong?
I was trying to be easy, trying to belong
One small pause and my mind writes it all down
I can’t keep dragging that first moment around
If you saw me past the nervous start
Would you still make room for my heart?

[Bridge]
I don’t have to polish every sentence
I don’t have to win the room
You can meet me where I’m standing
Not the version I rehearsed for you

[Final Chorus]
Maybe I didn’t come off wrong
Maybe a rough first note can still belong
One small pause doesn’t tell the whole story
I can stop asking the silence to warn me
If you see me past the nervous start
I’ll make room for your heart

[Outro]
Your name’s still folded in my coat
But now I let the door stay open