Lara Newman - The Woman Who Kept the Receipts // Darkwave, Post Punk

👁️ My new channel:    / @larasvault-2   🕯️ Explore projects & albums: https://shadowloft.bandcamp.com 💿 Get the cover albums (Vol. 1 & 2): https://ko-fi.com/laranewman 🍬 Or if you just want to leave a treat: https://bit.ly/4eY84yo 🎬 Visuals & Sound: Concept, editing & video production by Real Illusions. Music: instrumentation via Suno, with custom arrangement and production. Vocals performed by Lara Newman. 🎧 HEADPHONES RECOMMENDED 📜 Lyrics: She kept them in a kitchen drawer Folded neatly, sorted by the year The groceries, the shoes, the rent The things that made a life appear A little proof of every pound A record of the money spent She knew exactly what things cost And where each little payment went She'd smooth the paper with her thumb And file it where it should belong As if a life could be made right By never getting anything wrong She never owed a thing She never missed a date She kept the books in order She learned to calculate She kept the receipts For everything she bought Every little sacrifice Every battle fought She kept the receipts For every debt she'd paid But there was no line for the years That quietly slipped away No, there was no receipt For the life she put on hold No proof of what it cost her To do everything she was told The coat she bought at twenty-nine Still hung behind the bedroom door She wore it through three winters Then she didn't wear it anymore The holiday she never took The course she meant to start The birthday gift she bought herself And left inside its box in the dark Her sister called on Sundays She'd say she'd visit when she could There was always something urgent There was always something good The years went by in envelopes The dates grew pale and thin She kept the evidence of living But couldn't say where she'd been She never owed a thing She never missed a date She kept the books in order She learned to calculate She kept the receipts For everything she bought Every little sacrifice Every battle fought She kept the receipts For every debt she'd paid But there was no line for the years That quietly slipped away No, there was no receipt For the life she put on hold No proof of what it cost her To do everything she was told One afternoon she cleared the drawer The papers spread across the floor She found a bill from seventeen years back And couldn't place the shop anymore A dinner for two, a Saturday Two coffees and a meal She tried to remember who was there And what she'd wanted to feel She held the paper to the light As if the ink might tell her why Then put it with the others And watched the afternoon go by She could prove the rent was paid She could prove the fridge was new She could prove the shoes were worth the price And every promise she'd come through But who could certify the silence? Who could price the words unsaid? Who could write a proper figure For the life she never led? She searched the drawer again As if she'd missed a page A final bill, a missing sum An explanation for her age She kept the receipts For everything she bought Every little sacrifice Every battle fought She kept the receipts For every debt she'd paid But there was no line for the years That quietly slipped away No, there was no receipt No balance to restore No way to claim the life she'd lost Or ask what it was for She put the papers in a box And wrote the years upon the side Then left one receipt upon the table The only thing she couldn't file She couldn't remember What she'd bought it for. © Lara Newman – All rights reserved. This music, visual artwork, and character concept are original creations and are protected by applicable copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, or re-uploading of this content is prohibited. If you are a creator and wish to use this music in a video, project, or collaboration, please contact me for licensing and permission. #LaraNewman #darkwave #postpunk #goth #synthwave #independentartist #EtherealWave #DoomerMusic #Coldwave #DarkSynth #post-punk