Page 122 of The Song We Lost

Now they feel like something bigger… lighter.

Jackson glances toward the control room. “We’ll need to get Bailey’s full vocal,” he says. “Then we layer everyone else. Megan already said she wants a pass at the second verse. Rhett, you might steal the bridge if you behave.”

Rhett tips his hat. “No promises.”

Jackson grins and strums again. The opening chords hum through the room.

Then he starts.“I’ve stood on a thousand stages. Under every kind of light…”His voice is warm and steady, laying the track down like he’s opening a road.

I step into the next line without thinking.“Sang through heartbreak, sang through healing

Sang through every lonely night…”

Behind the glass Cory and Tim lean forward. Gary’s fingers hover above the console.

Sadie’s hand presses against her stomach as she listens, her eyes bright.

Jackson nods slightly for me to keep going.

“But somewhere in the noise and neon

When the world felt far from me…”

My voice grows as the words settle into the room.

“I saw your hands up in the darkness

Like a lighthouse in the sea.”

Jackson leans closer to the mic beside me. His harmony slides under mine when we hit the pre-chorus.“When my voice was shaking…”

I close my eyes.

“You sang every word…”

Jackson joins.“When the world got louder

You were the loudest heard.”

The guitar lifts slightly and we move into the chorus together.

“There’s no place I’d rather be

Than right here where you’re with me…”

The sound fills the studio and Sadie’s mouth falls open slightly. Gary looks up from the board like he just watched lightning hit.

Jackson’s voice rises with mine.“Every voice, every heart, every memory

Lighting up this melody…”

By the time we reach the last line Cory throws his fist into the air behind the console. “That’s the one!”

Rhett whistles from the couch. “Okay Brooks.”

Jackson just smiles. “Again,” he says, nodding toward the console.

Then he gestures toward Rhett to join us.