Teach me, Tiger…

[Verse 1] [close mic, breath only, no chest voice] The city's hummin' low tonight… [aspirated, pause, then very soft] Through the fire escape… the neon glow… [slightly warmer, but still whisper] You're smokin' in the corner… watchin' me… [audible inhale — do not edit out] [conspiratorial, almost childlike] Don't you know I'm curious as a kitten… [slower, with a tiny smile in voice] …in a penthouse… on a rainy 52nd street? [Chorus] [slightly more pitch, but still breathy — no belting] Teach me, Tiger… [laugh under the voice, not above] Right here… in the shadow of the 'L' train… [same dynamic, but warmer] Teach me, Tiger… [legato, as if tired but teasing] Make the city's rhythm… feel like a slow dance… [exhale, then spoken, not sung] [very quiet, intimate] I'm not a bad girl… I'm just… bad at pretendin'. [Verse 2] [playful, higher lisp, almost kittenish] You got that Brooklyn cool… like a rumble on the docks… [dry mouth texture — keep it] I got my pearls on… and my stockin' seams straight… [drop volume suddenly] But my heart's a jukebox… baby… [whisper — no vibrato at all] …only playin' your song… [pause, then mouth very close to mic] So what's your next move… mister…? [Bridge] [theatrical, but never loud] I've read the magazines… I've seen the late shows… [audible inhale again — keep it] But nothin' compares… to the way you hold a cigarette… [long pause — music drops out almost completely] [confessional, eyes half-closed] Come on… teach a girl from Queens… [last word trails off] …what they don't print in The Daily News… [Outro] [barely audible, almost sleeping] Teach me… Tiger… [humming, no consonants] Mm-mm… [spoken, not sung] …the el train's gone… it's just us… [with a tiny crack in voice] …and the rain on the fire escape… [final — exhale into mic] I'm not sleepy… not one bit.