All of the Chords

I collared Roisin, said "How do you do it?" "This place is so dark I can't tell them apart" She smiles like I'm joking, a laugh left unspoken But I know my jokes ain't that bad, oh, sure I learnt to smile back Thanks, I hate that! Where's the magic at? Thanks, I hate that! I started with all of the chords And somehow ended with two Always come back to that evening A couple we met, and the lore that they're steeped in Said he plays too, so he gets it, just keeps getting rejected You've gotta respect all that graft, oh, sure I just smiled back Thanks, I hate that! Where's the magic at? Thanks, I hate that! "You started with all of the chords" And they slipped out my pockets like sharpies on tour, oh sure I started with all of the chords (You started with all of the chords) And somehow ended with two He won't tell me what he did, cause I'd walk away in disgust. Says he might have paid the fees but he couldn't repair the damage. He explains how the people he hurt had that effect on the people they knew, and that impacted the lives of those around those people, and so on. Like ripples. He said that each day he does something consciously kind that he wouldn't otherwise do. And I'm like, "Like a penance?", and he's just like "Nah. I think that's how it's always been, everything's connected in ways you don't understand until it's too late." We're talking about gaming the butterfly effect, I guess. I tell him how I made a sassy joke to a friend and then we all lost our jobs. But I don't tell him about the magic- He says "I know you've thought about this", so I continue, and I reveal "Actually I'm writing a goddamn reunion rock record about this pal, and I wanna finish it." He goes "Have you ever thought about it like this? What happens when you throw a stone into a lake and the water ripples?" I'm like "What the fuck? [?] Just throw it into the water and you can best guess the size and the shape of the ripple through the current and wind, [?], all kinds of science." I'm like, "You know, it's kind of arrogant to think you are the only one throwing some stone in [?] metaphor." He just stands there and smiles and says. "That might be true, but nah. Throw a stone in a lake, what happens to the ripples? They come back to you." And at this point he goes "I bid you goodnight and good luck." My brain's already trying to tap a tune. [?] (Third new message, received today at 2:52 AM.)