Saxophone, Say My Name
Markus Ham
emotional
jazz
saxophone
warm upright bass
jazz blues
Smoky Motown-meets-Chicago club ballad
mid-tempo swing groove. Brushed drums
tremolo guitar stabs
and a weeping lead sax trading call-and-response with a soulful male vocal. Horn section swells in the chorus
Hammond organ pads under the bridge. Dynamic build from intimate verse to belting ad-libs
then a tender fade with the sax echoing the final line.
motown
Creat pe ian. 20, 2026
Versuri
[Verse 1]
Lipstick on my collar
Coffee going cold
Your picture in my wallet
Creased from being held
Jukebox in the corner
Playing something slow
Every note is asking
“Why’d you let her go?”
[Pre-Chorus]
I talk to the ceiling
You talk to my ghost
Silence in the hallway
Hurts me the most
[Chorus]
Saxophone, say my name
Blow that hurt right through me (oh)
Tell her everything I couldn’t
Every crooked truth, every foolish game
Saxophone, say my name
Let your crying carry
All the sorry I was scared to say
Saxophone, say my name
[Verse 2]
Streetlight through the window
Stripe across the floor
Her coat still on the hanger
Keys by the door
Neighbors laughing upstairs
Life goes on above
Down here every echo
Keeps asking about our love
[Pre-Chorus]
I pour out a promise
Into this chipped glass
You answer in a whisper
Rising from the brass
[Chorus]
Saxophone, say my name
Blow that hurt right through me (yeah)
Tell her everything I couldn’t
Every crooked truth, every foolish game
Saxophone, say my name
Let your crying carry
All the sorry I was scared to say
Saxophone, say my name
[Bridge]
Talk to her for me
Talk till you’re hoarse
Bend every blue note
Like you’re breaking the course
I’ll listen in the doorway
Hand on the frame
While you call, while you call
Till she hears my shame
[Chorus]
Saxophone, say my name
Blow that hurt right through me (oh, say it)
Tell her everything I couldn’t
Every crooked truth, every foolish game
Saxophone, say my name
If she ever comes back
Let her know this fool has finally changed
Saxophone, say my name
[Outro]
[Soft sax solo answering fading vocal ad-libs]
Say my name
Just once
Just once again
Lipstick on my collar
Coffee going cold
Your picture in my wallet
Creased from being held
Jukebox in the corner
Playing something slow
Every note is asking
“Why’d you let her go?”
[Pre-Chorus]
I talk to the ceiling
You talk to my ghost
Silence in the hallway
Hurts me the most
[Chorus]
Saxophone, say my name
Blow that hurt right through me (oh)
Tell her everything I couldn’t
Every crooked truth, every foolish game
Saxophone, say my name
Let your crying carry
All the sorry I was scared to say
Saxophone, say my name
[Verse 2]
Streetlight through the window
Stripe across the floor
Her coat still on the hanger
Keys by the door
Neighbors laughing upstairs
Life goes on above
Down here every echo
Keeps asking about our love
[Pre-Chorus]
I pour out a promise
Into this chipped glass
You answer in a whisper
Rising from the brass
[Chorus]
Saxophone, say my name
Blow that hurt right through me (yeah)
Tell her everything I couldn’t
Every crooked truth, every foolish game
Saxophone, say my name
Let your crying carry
All the sorry I was scared to say
Saxophone, say my name
[Bridge]
Talk to her for me
Talk till you’re hoarse
Bend every blue note
Like you’re breaking the course
I’ll listen in the doorway
Hand on the frame
While you call, while you call
Till she hears my shame
[Chorus]
Saxophone, say my name
Blow that hurt right through me (oh, say it)
Tell her everything I couldn’t
Every crooked truth, every foolish game
Saxophone, say my name
If she ever comes back
Let her know this fool has finally changed
Saxophone, say my name
[Outro]
[Soft sax solo answering fading vocal ad-libs]
Say my name
Just once
Just once again