[Verse 1 - bare piano, almost a whisper] I pressed my forehead to the window glass Watched a plane taxi slow across the tarmac Counted every cloud until I lost my breath The way I used to count the waves back home instead
I can still feel the salt air on my skin The sari sari store where everything begins Five pe-sos for a candy, twenty for a dream The version of me back there was simpler than she seemed
[Pre-Chorus] Walking towards gate twenty-three B With everything I am inside one bag The boarding passes shaking in my hand And seventeen years packed into this plan
[Chorus] This is pre-flight Heart at twenty one thousand feet Before I’ve even left the ground I’m already missing everything I’ve found This is pre-flight One last look before the engines start Before I cross the sea Before I find out who I’m gonna be This is pre-flight
[Verse 2] My friends, they’d call me every week We made that promise at the gate, happy tears on our cheeks I left them matching bracelets on their wrists And they sent me off with all the songs we’d always miss
We used to skip the last class on a Friday afternoon And run down to the shore before the others knew Karaoke sessions, where we’d sing at the top of our lungs Now I’m singing all alone, up above
[Pre-Chorus 2] And now I’m at gate twenty-three B With everything I am inside one bag The boarding passes shaking in my hand And seventeen years packed into this plan
[Chorus] This is pre-flight Heart at thirty-two thousand feet Before I’ve even left the ground I’m already missing everything I’ve found This is pre-flight One last look before the engines start Before I cross the sea Before I find out who I’m gonna be This is pre-flight
[Bridge - family, the emotional core, nearly acapella] They never had the extra things But they always had the extra time My Dad - stayed up late so many nights Just to hear me practice one more line My Mom - mended my only dress three times So I could sing at all the school events They gave me everything they had Which was more than money ever meant
I said “it might not work out” She said “honey, that’s not how we pray” She said “we didn’t raise you to stay small We raised you to find your way” ----
[Final Chorus - she’s walking to the gate] This is pre-flight Heart at thirty-seven thousand feet I’m leaving everything I’ve found So something bigger can be found This is preflight One last look, the engines start I’m crossing every sea Before I find out who I’m gonna be This is pre-flight This is pre-flight
[Outro - just her voice] Missing you already.