CASA GRANDE
Lyrics
[INTRO — A CHILDLIKE FEMALE HUM, DISTANT CHOIR, SINGLE PIANO]
(Female choir, barely audible)
Ooooooh…
Mmmmmmm…
[Male lead, trembling and almost whispering]
Hello?
Are you still there?
I know you can't hear me…
But I still talk to you sometimes.
I don't know why…
I guess…
I'm not ready to say goodbye.
[VERSE 1 — INTIMATE MALE VOCAL, SOFT PIANO]
I still leave the light on in the hallway,
Like you're coming home at the end of the day.
I still turn around when somebody calls,
And for a second, I forget it all.
Your coffee cup is sitting where you left it,
I can't move it, I just can't forget it.
Funny how a room can look the same,
But nothing ever feels the same again.
I still remember how you said my name,
The little things that I thought would never change.
And if I knew that was our final night,
I'd have held you longer in that fading light.
[PRE-CHORUS — CELLO ENTERS, FEMALE VOICES BREATHING SOFTLY]
(Female choir)
Don't let go…
Don't let go…
Male lead, voice cracking
I have a thousand things I need to tell you…
But I don't know where to send them anymore.
[CHORUS — HEARTBREAKING MALE VOCALS, GENTLE CHOIR]
Oh, Casa Grande…
Where do broken hearts go?
When the one who made them whole
Is the one they can't hold anymore?
Oh, Casa Grande…
Can you hear me through the walls?
I'm still waiting for your footsteps…
I'm still listening for your call.
And if love could bring you home again,
I'd love you more than I did back then.
But all I have is this empty room…
And a heart that still belongs to you.
CHOIR — SOFT, OVERLAPPING HARMONIES
Still belongs to you…
Still belongs to you…
Ohhh…
Casa Grande…
[VERSE 2 — LOW MALE VOCAL, PIANO AND STRINGS]
I wish that I had known what time was stealing,
I would've paid more attention to the little things.
The quiet mornings, your sleepy eyes,
The way you laughed when I couldn't get things right.
I was so busy dreaming of tomorrow,
I never saw the sadness in your sorrow.
You gave me love in a million little ways,
And I thought we'd have a million more days.
I'm sorry for the times I wasn't listening,
For every lonely night you spent pretending.
If I could stand before you once again,
I'd hold your face and tell you everything.
You never had to earn a place beside me,
You never had to hide the tears inside you.
And if I made you feel you were alone,
I'm sorry I didn't make it feel like home.
[PRE-CHORUS — STRINGS SWELL, TENOR CHOIR ENTERS]
(Male lead)
If I could turn the hands of time…
(Female choir)
We would hold you…
(Male lead)
I'd make the wrong things right…
(Full choir, tenderly)
We would hold you…
[CHORUS — FULLER HARMONIES, EMOTIONAL VOCAL DELIVERY]
Oh, Casa Grande…
Where do broken hearts go?
When the one who made them whole
Is the one they can't hold anymore?
Oh, Casa Grande…
Can you hear me through the walls?
I'm still waiting for your footsteps…
I'm still listening for your call.
And if love could bring you home again,
I'd love you more than I did back then.
But all I have is this empty room…
And a heart that still belongs to you.
[BRIDGE — EVERYTHING STOPS EXCEPT THE PIANO]
Male lead — voice trembling, long pauses
Do you remember…
That night we couldn't stop laughing?
We had almost nothing…
But somehow…
We had everything.
(Pause)
I didn't take enough pictures.
I didn't say thank you enough.
I didn't know that ordinary days…
Would become the days I'd give anything to get back.
(Faint female choir begins humming)
Mmmmm…
Ooooooh…
Male lead, almost crying
If I had one more minute…
I wouldn't ask for forever.
I wouldn't ask you to stay.
I'd just hold you…
Look into your eyes…
And tell you…
(Pause, voice breaks)
You made my life beautiful.
You made my life beautiful…
And I hope…
I hope you knew.
[CHOIR — GENTLE, HUMAN, OVERWHELMINGLY SAD]
We hope you knew…
We hope you knew…
You were loved…
You were loved…
MALE LEAD — ALMOST A WHISPER
I hope you knew…
[FINAL CHORUS — FULL ORCHESTRA AND MASSIVE MIXED CHOIR]
OH, CASA GRANDE!
WHERE DO BROKEN HEARTS GO?
WHEN THE ARMS THAT HELD THEM CLOSE
ARE THE ARMS THEY CANNOT HOLD?
OH, CASA GRANDE!
IF MY TEARS COULD BUILD A ROAD,
I WOULD WALK THROUGH EVERY OCEAN
JUST TO BRING YOUR HEART BACK HOME!
AND IF HEAVEN HAS A WINDOW,
IF THE STARS CAN HEAR ME CRY,
LET MY LOVE BECOME THE LETTER
THAT I NEVER GOT TO WRITE!
I STILL LOVE YOU!
I STILL LOVE YOU!
EVEN WHEN THE YEARS GO BY!
[CHOIR — SOPRANOS SOARING, TENORS AND BASSES IN DEEP HARMONY]
STILL WE LOVE YOU…
STILL WE LOVE YOU…
THROUGH THE SILENCE…
THROUGH THE NIGHT…
LOVE DOES NOT DISAPPEAR
WHEN WE SAY GOODBYE…
[OUTRO — ORCHESTRA FADES TO A SINGLE PIANO]
Male lead — exhausted, intimate
I think…
I'll leave the light on tonight.
Just in case.
(Pause)
Not because I think you'll come back…
But because…
For a little while…
It helps me remember what it felt like…
To have you home.
Female choir, almost inaudible
Casa Grande…
Casa Grande…
[Male lead,