            
**KITCHEN SINK REWRITE**
*All abstractions excised. Emotional states mapped to utility bills, food stains, and council house fittings.*

---

[Intro] [Low-fi tape hiss | humming of a distant immersion heater] [Simple, repetitive bass line enters]

[Verse 1] [Deadpan delivery | weary | stiff upper lip]
I see you’ve hoovered the lounge and the pile’s on the stairs
The wattage in the bulb is more than the meter spares
You greet me with custard creams I fumble to grip
Smile set like the glaze on a cracked chip-shop chip
Cards propped on the mantel, three-for-two from the Spar
Your joy too well-lit for the gloom that we are

[Chorus][Slightly more energy | clanging percussion | bright but brittle]
Why does your laugh clang off the Formica
I stand on the rug with the bald patch
The room in shades of the new magnolia
Oh happy faces, am I the chip in the mug

[Post-Chorus]
Ha ha, oh no, ha ha, don’t go

[Verse 2]
Gifts piled like washing baskets, plastic and ascending
I brought a card and the last of the codeine
Marching balloons and the telly too loud
It’s your kindness like scouring pads, rough and unallowed

[Pre-Chorus]
It’s not envy or regret
It’s the comfort of the damp net
Chilled by the lino underfoot
I take my place by the bar fire, coated in soot

[Chorus]
Why does your laugh clang off the Formica
I stand on the rug with the bald patch
The room in shades of the new magnolia
Oh happy faces, am I the chip in the mug

[Post-Chorus]
Ha ha, oh no, ha ha, don’t

[Bridge] [Music thins out | almost spoken-word | echoing in a small room]
Bulb too bright for the shilling meter
Wishes wrapped in yesterday’s *Echo*
I count the claps behind the chip-paper hat
Stained with vinegar, translucent and flat

[Verse 3]
The cake spells names in icing too thick
Wrapped in cling film, a bit of a trick
I linger by the door with the loose handle
Swallowed by the net curtains, yellow and candled

[Chorus]
Why does your laugh clang off the Formica
I stand on the rug with the bald patch
The room in shades of the new magnolia
Oh happy faces, am I the chip in the mug

[Post-Chorus]
Ha ha, oh no, ha ha, don’t go
Ha ha, oh no, ha ha, don’t go

Polite applause subsides to the kettle
Streamers drift to the spilt Vimto floor
Someone shouts my name through the net curtain
It muffles at the plywood door

I thank you all in the voice of the shipping forecast
Smile thin as the milk in the tea
The lights flicker with the immersion heater
To a warmth that’s not for me
The lights flicker with the immersion heater
To a warmth that’s not for me

[Tag]
Paper hats from the Spar shop
Footsteps on the lino
Past smiles stiff as the Sunday joint
I slip behind the ironing pile

Brief memories already curdling
With the dregs in the fruit bowl
I carry the weight of the mangle
But the wringer owns my soul

[Farewell]
So happy for your pantry
So fine to stand apart
Every cheer a tin of pilchards
Every silence, the draught from the cat-flap

[Outro] [Shipping forecast tone | emotionally evacuated]
I thank you all in the voice of the shipping forecast... 
[sound of a heavy plywood door closing] [Fading mechanical hum of the meter]

---------Old version-------------


[Verse 1]
I see you’ve decorated the lounge in a shade of enthusiasm I simply cannot match
Ribbons leap from the ceiling, confetti at the latch
You greet me with kindness I stumble to receive
Smile lacquered and brittle, I pretend to believe
Cards taped to the mantel, sincerity arranged
Your delight too sincere for me to exchange

[Chorus]
Why does your laughter sound so strange
I stand unmoved, you rearrange
The room in colors I can’t claim
Oh happy faces, am I the blame

[Post-Chorus]
Ha ha, oh no, ha ha, don’t go

[Verse 2]
Gifts piled too high, shaped like affection
I brought a card and mild deflection
Marching balloons and voices ascending
It’s your kindness that feels unrelenting

[Pre-Chorus]
It’s not envy or regret
It’s a comfort I forget
Chilled by the sunny welcome mat
I take my place, imagine that

[Chorus]
Why does your laughter sound so strange
I stand unmoved, you rearrange
The room in colors I can’t claim
Oh happy faces, am I the blame

[Post-Chorus]
Ha ha, oh no, ha ha, don’t

[Bridge]
Candles too bright for candor
Wishes I never made
I count the claps politely
Behind a paper barricade

[Verse 3]
The cake spells names I borrowed
Wrapped in generous delight
I linger in the doorway
Swallowed by the polite

[Chorus]
Why does your laughter sound so strange
I stand unmoved, you rearrange
The room in colors I can’t claim
Oh happy faces, am I the blame

[Post-Chorus]
Ha ha, oh no, ha ha, don’t go
Ha ha, oh no, ha ha, don’t go

[Outro]
Polite applause subsides to chatter
Streamers drift to the floor
Someone shouts my name in laughter
It echoes at the door

I thank you all in practiced tone
Smile small and walk alone
The lights flicker in surrender
To a joy I’ll never own
The lights flicker in surrender
To a joy I’ll never own

[Tag]
Paper hats tilt sideways
Footsteps out the hall
Past smiles built for always
I slip behind the wall

Brief memories already thinning
With the punch left in the bowl
I carry the weight of winning
But solitude is my role

[Farewell]
So happy for your reasons
So fine to stand apart
Every cheer a gentle season
Every silence, my counterpart
