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2:16
Words
Verse 1
I asked you what you wanted and you said, don't make it churchy
I said, Della, that's the only thing I know how to make
You showed me nine videos and paused them all halfway
To explain a thing that I did not follow even slightly
So I took notes. Actual notes, on the back of a handover sheet
Between a blood gas and a bed change, at four in the morning
Pre-Chorus
I tried the arrangement on the sopranos on a Wednesday
They did their best. It was not their best
So I dropped the organ and I kept the beat instead
Chorus
Fourteen, Della — this is as glossy as I get
No pews in it, no hymn in it, I promise, I checked
Just my voice and a beat that turns over halfway
Happy birthday from the one aunt who tried
Verse 2
You've a whole language going with your friends online
Half of it is Korean and half of it is not any language
Your mother says you're difficult. Your mother was difficult
And so was I, and so was every good one I have met
You cried in the car about a concert you can't go to
I would have driven you. I would have driven overnight
Chorus
Fourteen, Della — this is as glossy as I get
No pews in it, no hymn in it, I promise, I checked
Just my voice and a beat that turns over halfway
Happy birthday from the one aunt who tried
Bridge
When you were six you sang the descant in the wrong key
Straight through, at volume, and you never once looked down
Whatever that thing is, keep it. Don't let school take it
It's the only part of any of this that's actually rare
Final Chorus
Fourteen, Della — this is as glossy as I get
No pews in it, no hymn in it, I promise, I checked
Just my voice and a beat that turns over halfway
Happy birthday. Play it loud enough to embarrass me
Outro
I still don't know their names and I am not going to learn them
But I know yours, and I know how you say it when you're happy
Fourteen, Della. Go on
Made with Neva · lyrics and music generated by AI