Talking to No-One

We all usually end up relating to each other through need. It’s pretty rare to meet someone who feels whole and comfortable in their own space—someone who connects just out of curiosity or genuine interest. That idea feels even more true today, in a world that often runs on scarcity and longing.

I was thinking about this the other day and remembered the book by Shel Silverstein that really stuck with me: The Missing Piece. I wrote this song about 22 years ago, and honestly, it reflected most of the relationships I was in back then—ones built on the foundations of need. That book might be one of the most quietly powerful works I’ve ever read and it deeply influenced this song.

There are so many ways to take The Missing Piece in. You can see it as the frustration of never finding the “right” missing piece and settling for less… or you can see it as learning to smooth your own edges and discovering how to roll on your own. Either way, if you haven’t read it be ready to be affected.

Verse 1

I stitched my soul into your frame,

Borrowed your laughter, gave you my  name,

Just a stranger in your crowded room,

Chasing shadows, hiding all the gloom.

Wanted to live in your skin a borrowed me,

world fell apart  before I could see

that to view your light, had to dim my own,

Two strangers dancing, song unknown.

Chorus

It’s not my fault that the pieces stay apart,

We were searching blind, two lonely hearts.

You can’t force a fit when it will not go

Needed to know that this was real, not just a show 

Sorry, I’m not the echo you thought I’d be,

That I found my voice, and set myself free.

From a missing piece to a soul that grows,

Full human now, not someone you’d want to know 

Verse 2

I mirrored your steps, a hollow path,

Lost in your world, lost myself too fast

A drifter clinging to your warm embrace,

But love needs roots, not just time and space.

We offered hunger, with nothing to share

Two souls adrift, gasping for air,

Relating from need, not from the core,

Two halves pretending, but needing more.

Bridge

No blame to hold, no guilt to bear,

We were both lost, needing repair.

You gotta find your heart, your own true song,

Before you bend into where you don’t belong.

A missing piece learns to stand alone,

Builds its life, carves its own.

Chorus

It’s not my fault that the pieces stay apart,

We were searching blind, two empty hearts.

You can’t force a fit when it will not go

Needed to know that this was real, not just a show 

Sorry, I’m not the echo you thought I’d be,

That I found my voice, and set myself free.

From a missing piece to a soul that grows,

Full human now, not someone you’d want to know 

Chorus

It’s not my fault that the pieces stay apart,

We were searching blind, two empty hearts.

You can’t force a fit when it will not go

Needed to know that this was real, not just a show  

Sorry, I’m not the echo you thought I’d be,

That I found my voice, and set myself free.

From a missing piece to a soul that grows,

Full human now, not someone you’d want to know