THE ARITHMETIC OF HEARTS

[Intro: delicate piano, distant strings]

[Spoken, softly]
They taught us love
like there was only so much to go around.

[Pause]

What a peculiar economy.

[Verse 1: intimate vocal]

We learned to draw our little lines
Around the people we called mine
This chair is yours
That door is closed
These are the feelings we’ve exposed

Don’t stand too near
Don’t care too much
Be careful where you place your touch

As though affection had a tank
And every kindness drained the bank

[Backing Vocals]
Mine
Yours
His
Hers

[Lead]
Everybody keeping books
On things that never learned accounting

[Pre-Chorus]

If I laugh with you
Does someone lose?

If I hold a friend
What did I use?

If my heart grows wider
Tell me why

We treat each open window
Like goodbye

[Chorus: drums bloom, wide harmonies]

LOVE ISN’T GOLD
BURIED UNDERGROUND

IT DOESN’T GET SMALLER
WHEN THERE’S MORE OF IT AROUND

I can cherish you
And care for them

And neither light
Has got to dim

Maybe hearts aren’t little kingdoms
Built for one flag flying above

Maybe nobody has to own
The territories of love

[Verse 2: playful bass enters]

We have treaties for affection
Customs posts for every friend

Forms explaining which connection
May continue, where, and when

“This one’s harmless”
“That’s suspicious”
“Why’d you smile at them like that?”

We’ve turned tenderness to contraband
And jealousy into a tax

[Backing Vocals, mock-official]
Declare your feelings!
State their value!
Anything to report?

[Lead]
Yes, officer

I accidentally cared about
Another human being

[Music stop]

Terribly sorry.

[Pre-Chorus]

Some boundaries keep us safe
And they deserve respect

But sometimes fear wears boundaries
Like medals on its chest

There’s a difference between choosing
What you need to feel secure

And believing every human bond
Makes another bond less pure

[Chorus]

LOVE ISN’T GOLD
BURIED UNDERGROUND

IT DOESN’T GET SMALLER
WHEN THERE’S MORE OF IT AROUND

I can cherish you
And care for them

And neither light
Has got to dim

Maybe hearts aren’t little kingdoms
Built for one flag flying above

Maybe nobody has to own
The territories of love

[Instrumental Break: piano and guitar exchanging gentle phrases]

[Bridge: strings, no drums]

Think of everyone you almost knew

Because somebody might misunderstand

Every friendship kept at arm’s length
Every unextended hand

Every person who could’ve mattered
But the rules said, “Not too near”

Every beautiful connection
We surrendered out of fear

[Pause]

What if love behaves like music?

[Guitar harmonic]

One melody begins another
Without the first one disappearing

What if every human closeness
Doesn’t need a ranking?

Doesn’t need permission?

Doesn’t need to threaten
Something already dear?

[Drums begin building]

[Verse 3]

You are not less precious
Because others make me smile

I am not abandoning you
Because I walk another mile

Trust is not surveillance
Love is not a chain

And nobody becomes safer
By pretending hearts are tame

We can choose our promises
We can say what we require

We can honor every boundary
Without putting walls around desire

[Final Chorus: huge key change]

LOVE ISN’T GOLD
THERE’S NO FINAL VEIN

NO LAST DROP OF KINDNESS
NO MONOPOLY ON PAIN

Let affection multiply
Let honest words replace the spies

Let every relationship become
What those inside it freely choose

[Choir]
Not possession!

[Lead]
Connection

[Choir]
Not permission!

[Lead]
Conversation

[Choir]
Not scarcity!

[Lead]
Abundance

[All Vocals]
NOT EVERY LOVE
HAS TO COMPETE
WITH EVERY OTHER LOVE

[Final Refrain: instruments slowly fall away]

Maybe I can love you deeply

Without asking you
To close every door

Maybe you can choose me freely

And freedom makes it mean
A little more

[Soft Choir]
A little more

[Lead]
There are billions of us
Passing briefly through this place

Why make the heart a fortress

When it could become
A meeting space?

[Outro: piano only]

[Spoken]

People aren’t property.

Neither is affection.

[Pause]

Love doesn’t have to be scarce
to be precious.

[Final warm chord]