Old Sandhill Boots

Candles flicker upside down, corridors unwind
Starlit boots are tapping out the riddles in my mind
Laughter rides the circuit board, needle skips and burns
Lost inside a spiral maze, waiting for return

Raincoat draped on copper bones, streets begin to reel
Silver lizards hissing on a record that won’t heal
Eyes behind the shadow glass beckon from afar
Tangled in the circuitry of who we really are

Crashing down the spirals of a cracked electric dream
Painted faces flicker past, melting at the seams
Midnight wires humming as they crawl across the floor
Questions twisting ancient locks, begging for the door

Shadow laughter dances on the wall
You whisper riddles while the planets fall
Truth unwinds on dusty velvet chairs
Weaving circles round my mind, catching vacant stares

Lady of the static heart, take me for a ride
Tripping on the spiral, I can't break your tide
Silver boots and silken glance, calling from below
Wrap your breath around my sleep, where the fever grows

Oh la la la la la, oh la la la la

Tempest in the mirror spread her thunder on the ground
Creeping from the corners, velvet shadows moving 'round
She wore a smile of mercury that burned between the lines
Tempted fate to follow, tearing out the signs

Time unravels where you lay your hands
Orbits crashing, you redraw the lands
A sudden hush, the pulse of stars
I'm stumbling intoxicated where your secrets are

Lady of the static heart, take me for a ride
Tripping on the spiral, I can't break your tide
Silver boots and silken glance, calling from below
Wrap your breath around my sleep, where the fever grows

Oh la la la la la, oh la la la la

Satellites collide above a map of all desires
She sketches every memory in phosphorescent wires
Parade of hollow mannequins, velvet thunder rolls
Mismatched hands are moving but nobody ever knows

Cryptic verses painted on the hem of fading light
The corridor is folding up, I'm losing track of night
Her laughter rattles cages in the prism of my head
Left with only spirals and the riddles that you said

Lady of the static heart, take me for a ride
Tripping on the spiral, I can't break your tide
Silver boots and silken glance, calling from below
Wrap your breath around my sleep, where the fever grows

Oh la la la la la, oh la la la la
Oh la la la la la, oh la la la la

Silver circuits flicker out, silent carousel
Forgotten shoes are marching to the toll of distant bells
Ribbons made of memory untangle as they fall
Lady of the static heart, you never were at all

Oh la la la la la, oh la la la la
Oh la la la la la, oh la la la la

Mirrors in the silence catch a shimmer as you go
Candle stubs are floating down a spiral overflow
Phantoms spin in patterns on my faded, shifting skin
Lady of the static heart, where do I begin?

Oh la la la la la, carried on the line
Oh la la la la la, lost in the design
Oh la la la la la, every circle ends
Lady of the static heart, turn and start again

Dust in my coffee, moon in my hat
Yesterday's papers, flattened out flat
Blues on the back porch, humming a tune
Dragging my shadow, quarter past noon

Whistle through the alley gate
Lamp oil on my shoes

I found my shoes by the old sandhill
They were talking, so I listened still
Silver buttons rattled, morning blew
Tell me something new

Hey now, alright now
Hey now, alright now

Slept through sunrise, boots on the fence
Rolling thunder, funeral tents
Crows are laughing, chewing on fate
Gone before it's too late

Rag and bone and cigarettes
There's nothing left to lose

I found my shoes by the old sandhill
They were talking, so I listened still
Silver buttons rattled, morning blew
Tell me something new

Hey now, alright now
Hey now, alright now

Bells from the station, shiver the glass
Spent my last penny chasing the past
Shadows play tricks under yellow street light
I’ll walk it again tonight

I found my shoes by the old sandhill
They were talking, so I listened still
Silver buttons rattled, morning blew
Tell me something new

Hey now, alright now
Hey now, alright now

Torn paper hats and forgotten shoes
Threadbare shadows pacing the loos
Nurses parade in gowns of green
Flicker and fade beyond the canteen

Staring out windows too high to see
The stories unravel quietly

Locked up in rooms with a thousand doors
Paper men dream on the checkered floors
All the faces sing with crooked joy
Dreams sewn from ashes nobody employs

Oh, oh, oh, sing along mad boy
Oh, oh, oh, sing along mad boy

Doctors in blue play their mindless tricks
Marching us round with iron sticks
Blindfolded laughter, a jigsaw of lies
The clock on the wall hums lullabies

Seven suns circle over my chair
The world outside forgets I’m there

Locked up in rooms with a thousand doors
Paper men dream on the checkered floors
All the faces sing with crooked joy
Dreams sewn from ashes nobody employs

Oh, oh, oh, sing along mad boy
Oh, oh, oh, sing along mad boy

Drifting on pillows of chemical snow
Paintings of silence line up in a row
The flick of a light and I start again
Counting the dreams that slipped from my pen

Faces in mirrors start laughing too soon
Under the table, a paper balloon
Morning is strangled by tangled old sheets
The ceiling grows faces, and none of them speak

Yesterday’s fingers drum on my knee
Dancing with ghosts that nobody sees

Locked up in rooms with a thousand doors
Paper men dream on the chequered floors
All the faces sing with crooked joy
Dreams sewn from ashes nobody employs

Oh, oh, oh, sing along mad boy
Oh, oh, oh, sing along mad boy

Scribbled visions on the ceiling
Chalk and paper scars the floor
A radio hums of distant dealings
Lock the cabinet, bar the door

And someone hums a nursery rhyme
It crawls beneath the light
A shadow flickers lost in time
Unravelling the night

I saw them running through the garden
Painted faces in a parade
With trembling hands, they offer riddles
And promises they never made

Oh-oh, laughing in the maze
Ah-ah, secrets on their tongues

Windowless corridors, silent and narrow
Footsteps echo soft as a prayer
The man with four clocks says "Tomorrow
Is nothing but a name we wear"

And who are you beneath the laughter
A mask upon a mask beneath the skin

I saw them running through the garden
Painted faces in a parade
With trembling hands, they offer riddles
And promises they never made

Oh-oh, laughing in the maze
Ah-ah, secrets on their tongues

Paper crowns beneath the rafters
A chorus drifts through peeling walls
Faded banners, faded laughter
A marble bust in dusty halls

I met a girl with tangled ribbons
She swore she could predict the rain
Her mirror cracked with secret visions
Of stitched-up minds and numbered names

And somewhere clocks are spinning faster
All the faces turned away

I saw them running through the garden
Painted faces in a parade
With trembling hands, they offer riddles
And promises they never made

Oh-oh, laughing in the maze
Ah-ah, secrets on their tongues

Monday brought the circus to my street
A marching band of ghosts without their feet
The garden gnomes are gathering to scheme
A hatless man is shouting from a dream

The window’s grown a silent nose
It listens through the tea-stained day
If order’s just a crumpled pose
I’ll let the roads lead away

I walk upon the crooked sighs
Where shadows double in my mind
Fences laugh at passing eyes
And everyone’s pretending not to mind

La la la, oh la la la
La la la, oh la la la

Yesterday the clocks forgot to ring
Mrs. Stanley’s painting on the wall could sing
I tip my hat to the statues in the hall
They chase me down the ever-shrinking hall

They say I should stay inside
But the curtains swallow my day
If sanity's an old disguise
I’ll let the world melt away

I walk upon the crooked sighs
Where shadows double in my mind
Fences laugh at passing eyes
And everyone’s pretending not to mind

La la la, oh la la la
La la la, oh la la la

There’s paper moons strung up above my bed
A soldier’s cap is where I rest my head
The spiders tell me secrets of the floor
Their little boots are marching out the door

The wallpaper’s begun to breathe
It hums till morning’s pale parade
If logic’s just a handkerchief
I think I’ll let it fade

I walk upon the crooked sighs
Where shadows double in my mind
Fences laugh at passing eyes
And everyone’s pretending not to mind

La la la, oh la la la
La la la, oh la la la
La la la, oh la la la
La la la, oh la la la

Morning slips in sideways, throws light against the floor
Old radio buzzing truth I can’t ignore
Checked my jacket pockets, silver penny, garden key
Mirror’s got an answer but won’t hand it back to me

Spinning on a notion, clinging to my shoes
Lost among the shadows, trading colors for the blues

Hey sweet Anne, you’re drifting by my door
You’re humming out a line you heard before
Tumbling, tumbling down, the carousel spins slow
Hey sweet Anne, breathe out, we’ll let the story grow

Don’t you know, oh-oh, oh
Don’t you know, oh-oh, oh-oh-oh

Tommy says the weather’s turning wild
Ashes in the tea, a frown on every child
Fidget in the corner, paint a mask and smile
We’re all just slightly mad, walking crooked for a mile

Skylines crumble, but we can’t recall
The reason we crawled from the garden at all

Hey sweet Anne, you’re drifting by my door
You’re humming out a line you heard before
Tumbling, tumbling down, the carousel spins slow
Hey sweet Anne, breathe out, we’ll let the story grow

Don’t you know, oh-oh, oh
Don’t you know, oh-oh, oh-oh-oh

Clock above the mantle rings an old refrain
Laughing at the pictures fading in the rain
Empty mugs and riddles scattered on the sill
Whistling for an answer that’s wandering still

Hey sweet Anne, you’re drifting by my door
You’re humming out a line you heard before
Tumbling, tumbling down, the carousel spins slow
Hey sweet Anne, breathe out, we’ll let the story grow

Don’t you know, oh-oh, oh
Don’t you know, oh-oh, oh-oh-oh

Tin kettle buzzing on the stove
Old black jacket, threads I know
Window cracked with Sunday air
Turn the handle, find me there

Kitchen tiles are waking slowly
Rusted rhythm starts the song
Sneakers tapping in the doorway
Another day can’t stay wrong

Strange old mirror on my wall
Laughs each morning, croaks a call
Sun crawls sideways through my mind
Sings a tune I never find

Oh, la la la, oh oh
Oh, la la la, oh oh

Barefoot wanderer in painted clothes
Climbs the railing, struts and goes
Paper heroes on the line
Trading secrets, undefined

Something’s shifting in the stairwell
Crazy voices in the hall
Every window’s locked and waiting
For that sideways sun to fall

Strange old mirror on my wall
Laughs each morning, croaks a call
Sun crawls sideways through my mind
Sings a tune I never find

Oh, la la la, oh oh
Oh, la la la, oh oh

Paint can peels and shadows slip
Heavy letters never sent
Spiders drafting crooked plans
On a ceiling caving in

Spinning bottle on the table
Points to faces, tells me lies
Morning’s stretching out like cable
Turns to moths and paper skies

Somewhere distant, someone’s humming
Names I lost and can't recall
Faded voices, curtain shaking
Underneath that golden crawl

Strange old mirror on my wall
Laughs each morning, croaks a call
Sun crawls sideways through my mind
Sings a tune I never find

Oh, la la la, oh oh
Oh, la la la, oh oh
Oh, la la la, oh oh

Windows rattling in the silence
Gold dust slipping through the cracks
Every shadow holds a secret
Every memory looks back

Smoke curls around distant footsteps
Hollow laughter in the room
Ancient photographs are trembling
Curtains sighing in the gloom

Candle wax on silver tables
Eyes that flicker, never stay
I remember names and fables
But their colors melt away

We met beside forgotten mirrors
Drawn in lines no one recalls
Traced circles with our fractured fingers
Gathered shadows from the hall

Ah ah, turning slow
Ah ah, nowhere to go

You wore your mind like faded velvet
Slipping past the haunted years
Twisted laughter in the garden
Beckoned me to face my fears

Someone left a letter burning
Words I never understood
But I hear voices turning
Spinning riddles where you stood

We met beside forgotten mirrors
Drawn in lines no one recalls
Traced circles with our fractured fingers
Gathered shadows from the hall

Ah ah, turning slow
Ah ah, nowhere to go

Clocks are melting on the mantle
Lost reflections in the glass
Footprints stepping into patterns
Of a future shaped by past

Ghosts are humming distant warnings
Silent faces in the rain
Paint is peeling off the story
Yet the refrain sounds the same

Silver threads of half-remembered
Days unravel from the night
If you're gone or just dismembered
I still chase the fading light

We met beside forgotten mirrors
Drawn in lines no one recalls
Traced circles with our fractured fingers
Gathered shadows from the hall

Ah ah, turning slow
Ah ah, nowhere to

Faded faces at the doorway
Threads of smoke that never rise
Empty places tell the story
Locked behind unblinking eyes

I walk backwards through the silence
Carrying an absent name
Shadows gather in defiance
Nothing here remains the same

Ah ah, breathing slow
Ah ah, time lets go

Windows cracking in the distance
Echoes tangled in the dust
Empty laughter drips from ceiling
Words dissolve in broken trust

Figures painted in a circle
Drawn with trembling hands of clay
I stand alone inside the pattern
Watch my memories decay

Ah ah, drifting slow
Ah ah, shadows grow

Empty portraits gently flicker
On a wall that can’t forget
Faded rooms with distant figures
Trace a path of no regret

Ah ah, further still
Ah ah, chasing will

Velvet doors dissolve behind me
Mirrored faces lose their names
Steps repeat with strange precision
All the stories sound the same

Somewhere clocks are slightly ticking
Hopes unravel as they fray
Standing where the dusk is thickening
I let the silence have its say

We met beside forgotten mirrors
Drawn in lines no one recalls
Traced circles with our fractured fingers
Gathered shadows from the hall

Ah ah, fading slow
Ah ah, letting go

Last illusions slip through fingers
Silent pages turn to grey
Windows watch with empty faces
Time just waiting to decay

Lanterns flicker in the distance
Shadows stitched upon the floor
Footsteps echoing persistence
Tracing patterns evermore

We met beside forgotten mirrors
Drawn in lines no one recalls
Traced circles with our fractured fingers
Gathered shadows from the hall

Ah ah, colder now
Ah ah, show me how

Curtains drop in quiet warning
Nothing spoken, nothing true
I step beyond the fading morning
And the world forgets us too

Ah ah, silence slow
Ah ah, time to go

Mist creeps in across the threshold
Silver keys without a door
Tangled threads of silent questions
Unraveling on the floor

Names dissolve within the weather
Rain reciting what we lose
Rooms remember every tether
Worn away by distant truths

We met beside forgotten mirrors
Drawn in lines no one recalls
Traced circles with our fractured fingers
Gathered shadows from the hall

Ah ah, drifting far
Ah ah, what we are

Shadows fold along the window
Time recedes beneath my feet
Lost in silence, drifting slow now
Empty rooms and hearts repeat

Ah ah, slipping through
Ah ah, bidding adieu

Metal morning rising slow
Winding cables breathing low
Signals cracking through the air
Painted future, vacant stare

Children watching through the glass
Mirrored ages come to pass
Questions swirling, blinking lights
Patterns turning, endless nights

Iron faces in the hallway maze
Lights reflecting off a fevered gaze
March of progress on a sputtering screen
What is real here, what does freedom mean

Someone murmurs in the crowd
Asking questions not allowed
Crimson warnings linger wild
Nothing certain but the trial

People gather by the silver throne
Shadows flicker, statues carved from stone
Verdict falling, voices call unknown
Will you listen, will you stand alone

Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh

They bring their questions to the glowing eyes
Waiting silent for a human sign
Pale believers, promises denied
Whose tomorrow, and whose design

Turning, turning wheel of time
Underneath a steely sky
Faith in comfort, hope in line
But someone has to ask them why

People gather by the silver throne
Shadows flicker, statues carved from stone
Verdict falling, voices call unknown
Will you listen, will you stand alone

Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh

Wires tangled round the treaty fire
Grins and warnings, looping higher
Banners waving in a silent gloom
Someone laughing in the waiting room

Gathered faces shimmer pale and thin
Lab coats tracing every flaw and sin
Silver question spinning round the room
Man or maker—who decides the doom

Final message scrawled in sand
History slipping through a hand
Whispers rising, filling air
Who will answer, who will dare

People gather by the silver throne
Shadows flicker, statues carved from stone
Verdict falling, voices call unknown
Will you listen, will you stand alone

Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh

Gunmetal morning, boots on pavement
Cobbled warning, faces drawn
Brass in pockets, heads held vacant
Waiting silent for the dawn

Lost in headlines, twisted meaning
Careless footfalls, jagged truth
Painted futures, never gleaning
Parade of caution marching through

Raise the flag above the ruins
Ride the shadow, draw the line
Crimson shadows marching forward
We don't wait for any sign

Oh oh, oh oh
Oh oh, oh oh

Trailing smoke across the alleys
Steel-toed boots and ragged eyes
With a bitter taste of glory
And the tremor of disguise

Between the sirens and the fiction
Every promise turns to stone
We take aim without conviction
As the streets become our throne

Raise the flag above the ruins
Ride the shadow, draw the line
Crimson shadows marching forward
We don't wait for any sign

Oh oh, oh oh
Oh oh, oh oh

Painted shells on cracked pavements
Mirrored eyes beneath the grime
Promises fade in backroom basements
Counting casualties in rhyme

Crimson laughter down the tunnels
Broken pride behind the glass
Dreams dissolve in rusted barrels
Let the old world stumble past

Under thinning clouds of thunder
We keep marching, boots and breath
Grasping reasons torn asunder
Trading hope for what is left

Raise the flag above the ruins
Ride the shadow, draw the line
Crimson shadows marching forward
We don't wait for any sign

Oh oh, oh oh
Oh oh,

Shadow traders counting tally
Silent lips and loaded hands
Scraps of faith, a tattered rally
Stains that memory withstands

Last salute to steel and reason
Grey horizons closing slow
Patterns bleed into the season
Keep on marching, don’t let go

Oh oh, oh oh
Oh oh, oh oh
Oh oh, oh oh
Oh oh, oh oh

Neon flicker bleeding under my boots
Steel in my pocket, a handful of truths
Shadows are laughing, sharpening teeth
Falling for trouble that's tangled beneath

Gutter-born perfume, it stings in the rain
Knuckles run silver, they're calling my name
Ghosts in the doorway, they stare as I pass
Heartbeat is rattling, fast as a match

Rain spitting sideways as she walks in the bar
Eyes like a promise, a jaded old scar
Leathers creaking, she glides to my side
Lips tasting fury and whiskey and pride

She flicks a coin, it rattles the glass
Strangers and lovers, none ever last

She burned my name on the back of my mind
Ripped through my silence, tore out the rind
Laughing in thunder, wild in her way
I couldn't keep her, she never would stay

Hey, hey, wild one
Hey, hey, wild one

Crimson boots on the kitchen floor
She kicked through my secrets and slammed the door
Threads on my shoulder still smell of her smoke
She left me spinning, a one-man joke

Told me 'come closer,' then vanished in steam
Left me with ashes, fuel for the dream

She burned my name on the back of my mind
Ripped through my silence, tore out the rind
Laughing in thunder, wild in her way
I couldn't keep her, she never would stay

Hey, hey, wild one
Hey, hey, wild one

Cigarette burning a hole in the night
Words she once muttered still claw in the light
Mirrors reflecting the wound and the fight
I chase her shadow, out of my sight

Days start to blur with the taste of regret
Streetlights are humming the tune I forget
If she ever wondered or turned to recall
She left no number, nothing at all

Echo of leather, the hint of perfume
Memory lingers, haunting the room

She burned my name on the back of my mind
Ripped through my silence, tore out the rind
Laughing in thunder, wild in her way
I couldn't keep her, she never would stay

Hey, hey, wild one
Hey, hey, wild one
Hey, hey, wild one

Lights start to flicker, my mind’s running thin
Trace her in shadows I’ll never outrun
Bootsteps are fading, her laughter persists
Stories unravel in smoke and in mist

Hey, hey, wild one
Hey, hey, wild one
Hey, hey, wild one
Hey, hey, wild one

Ash on my collar, skin tingles raw
Her name’s in the static, scratched on the wall
Sun creeping sideways through curtains undone
I wait for her shadow, but she’s already gone

Hey, hey, wild one
Hey, hey, wild one
Hey, hey, wild one
Hey, hey, wild one

Cobweb gardens by the stairway
Silent figures hold forgotten signs
Mirror pieces on the hallway
Lines receding from our wandering minds

Paper lanterns flicker, almost gone
Twisting truths beneath the powdered skin
Promises like empty rose bouquets
Who remembers where they’ve been?

Crawling under carnival spires
Children laughing at the masks we wear
Spinning circles in the wire
Are we really ever there?

Oh la la, la la la
Oh la la, la la la

Clocks with faces made of paper
Actors hiding in the greasepaint sun
Caught in games, we chase the vapour
Can you tell me when it all begun?

Balloons tangled on the old parade
Footsteps vanish down the wishing lane
Shadows bending, everything’s parade
Will it ever feel the same?

Crawling under carnival spires
Children laughing at the masks we wear
Spinning circles in the wire
Are we really ever there?

Oh la la, la la la
Oh la la, la la la

Cracked lanterns on the railing
Marionettes with tired, glassy eyes
Rusty music box failing
Spirals lost above the tide

Painted horses faint in twilight
Questions written on a paper crown
Tiny jewels lost to midnight
Will the circle settle down?

Drifting slow on velvet afternoons
Costumes gathered in the afterglow
Dreams undone beneath a silver moon
Do we linger, do we know?

Crawling under carnival spires
Children laughing at the masks we wear
Spinning circles in the wire
Are we really ever there?

Oh la la, la la la
Oh la la, la la la
Oh la la, la la la

Hazy morning, leaning heavy on my mind
Broken pavement, painted lines I step behind
Silver laughter floating out from open doors
Neon jackets stumble through the corridor

Always running, never knowing where to land
Eyes like windows hiding secrets in the sand

Hey now, sliding sideways down the avenue
I caught a phrase that jumped up, twisted right on through
Hey now, what’re you waiting for to find the proof?
Sinking boots and sunken youth, we carry on the ruse

La la la, la la la, la la la la
La la la, la la la, la la la la

Turned a corner, saw a shadow wink and pass
Copper pennies in a jar I found out in the grass
Tried to listen to the silver tongues that thrash
Flick my collar up, the morning’s thin as glass

Different faces always find a hand to shake
Trading meaning for a little masquerade

Hey now, sliding sideways down the avenue
I caught a phrase that jumped up, twisted right on through
Hey now, what’re you waiting for to find the proof?
Sinking boots and sunken youth, we carry on the ruse

La la la, la la la, la la la la
La la la, la la la, la la la la

Half-awake I drift along the fractured curb
Streetlight sketches drawing lines across my nerves
Funny faces fading fast behind the glaze
Morning lingers, turns my head a crooked way

Hey now, sliding sideways down the avenue
I caught a phrase that jumped up, twisted right on through
Hey now, what’re you waiting for to find the proof?
Sinking boots and sunken youth, we carry on the ruse

La la la, la la la, la la la la
La la la, la la la, la la la la

Shuffled feet on checkerboard floors
Tattered robe, stitched up with string
Morning fog drifting under the doors
Nurses paper kings and queens

Old magazines scattered apart
Names erased from the spine
Silver spoons and a mended heart
Hiding from the warning sign

Shadows spider across faded tiles
Laughter hanging for miles

Voices on the ceiling,
They're laughing at the cracks in the wall
Painted faces peeling
And no one remembers at all

Oh oh oh, mad parade
La la la, masquerade

Twisted little figure scribbles secret plans
He knows the corridors bend
Clock hands shiver, ticking in his hands
No one calls him a friend

Windows rattle with impossible tales
Dreams spill over the rails

Voices on the ceiling,
They're laughing at the cracks in the wall
Painted faces peeling
And no one remembers at all

Oh oh oh, mad parade
La la la, masquerade

Bent forks clang on empty trays
Chalk lines circle the beds
Shouting figures fade into haze
Fingers press to their heads

Echo spun stories, wild in the halls
Stripe pajamas parade
Nobody listens when somebody calls
Sanity filed away

Paint peels with each restless hour
Paper moons losing their power

Voices on the ceiling,
They're laughing at the cracks in the wall
Painted faces peeling
And no one remembers at all

Oh oh oh, mad parade
La la la, masquerade

Steps on velvet, echoes fall
Words unsaid behind the wall
Spinning doors and paper moons
Crimson shadows cross the room

Pale reflections in my tea
Dusty patterns, incomplete
Ghosts recite the empty creed
Trading names for what they need

Gold-lined hallway, numbers fade
Scribbled riddles hiding in the shade
Footsteps tapping through the wax-lit hall
Turning portraits face the wall

Smoke and silence, breathing slow
Every face, a mask I know

I've seen the faces in the black parade
Trading secrets in a silent charade
Shadowed figures drift across my mind
Searching for a truth the world won't find

Round and round
Down we go
Round and round
Lost below

Cold hands touch the rusted door
Painted laughter stains the floor
Memories flicker, twist, and turn
Silver ashes still refuse to burn

Through the mirror, walking slow
Where I end, nobody knows

I've seen the faces in the black parade
Trading secrets in a silent charade
Shadowed figures drift across my mind
Searching for a truth the world won't find

Round and round
Down we go
Round and round
Lost below

Curtained windows counting time
Lipstick warnings in a crooked line
Puppets dangle over polished stone
Humming secrets all alone

Empty suitcase, open wide
Half-truths tangled deep inside
Spirals drawn along the faded tile
Tracing questions for a while

Masks in motion, moving slow
Turning faces I once know

I've seen the faces in the black parade
Trading secrets in a silent charade
Shadowed figures drift across my mind
Searching for a truth the world won't find

Round and round
Down we go
Round and round
Lost below

Curtains drawing, shadows blend
Answers hidden round each bend
Silent laughter in the stairwell air
Leaving questions hanging there

Footprints fade, dissolve in light
Yesterday slips out of sight
Turning slowly, doors remain
Always searching, still the same

Round and round
Down we go
Round and round
Lost below

Paint peels softly from the frame
Hallways fold into a name
Silent keeper, pass me by
Puzzle pieces dressed in sky

Empty corners, open doors
Follow shadows, nothing more

Round and round
Down we go
Round and round
Lost below

Clock hands drifting without sound
Paper stories swirling round
Hands in pockets, eyes half closed
Follow shadows no one knows

Empty stairways, moving slow
Familiar footsteps where I go

I've seen the faces in the black parade
Trading secrets in a silent charade
Shadowed figures drift across my mind
Searching for a truth the world won't find

Round and round
Down we go
Round and round
Lost below

Shuttered windows, threadbare dreams
Worn out logic splits the seams
Cracks in reason quietly expand
Folding secrets in my hand

Faded faces drifting slow
Turning tides I used to know

I've seen the faces in the black parade
Trading secrets in a silent charade
Shadowed figures drift across my mind
Searching for a truth the world won't find

Round and round
Down we go
Round and round
Lost below

Lantern flickers in the gloom
Shadows scatter from the room
Fade away on slippered feet
Endless journey in repeat

Lantern flickers in the gloom
Shadows scatter from the room
Fade away on slippered feet
Endless journey in repeat

Round and round
Down we go
Round and round
Lost below

A sigh behind forgotten doors
Ink stains left on marbled floors
Old illusions crowd the stair
Vanished answers in the air

Quiet footsteps, leaving slow
All that’s hidden, all you know
Dust unsettles, drifting on
One more secret, almost gone

Stood by the river with gravel in my hand
Shirt half untucked and torn
Watched the water carving up the land
Thinking of places I was born

Crickets start their backwards song
Dust settles before too long

Rolling down the dusty slope
With the heavy boots I own
Got a mind with wheels of smoke
And a stone for every bone

Oh, oh, oh
Hey, hey, hey

Yesterday’s king got lost in the grass
He’s tracing his name in the mud
Rusty old metal and cracked-looking glass
Silver and ash in my blood

Time won’t bend in this morning sun
Shadow talk, falling undone

Rolling down the dusty slope
With the heavy boots I own
Got a mind with wheels of smoke
And a stone for every bone

Oh, oh, oh
Hey, hey, hey

Barbed wire fences leaning in rows
Cow skulls sunk in the sand
All the wild horses nobody knows
Still run this twisted land

Rolling down the dusty slope
With the heavy boots I own
Got a mind with wheels of smoke
And a stone for every bone

Oh, oh, oh
Hey, hey, hey

Sun drops low, copper and red
Broken tracks lead me home
Boot prints fade where I once tread
Leaving dust for the dawn
Oh, oh, oh
Hey, hey, hey

Old magician by the mirror paints his grin
Broken tic-tac in his pocket, tossed again
Shaky hands arrange the puppets on the stair
Tiny eyes behind the curtain, watching there

Whistle soft, the hours pass, fortunes never true
Hide your name behind a silver pin
Welcome every mask anew

See the children, paper capes and faces pale
Oh, they dance along the spiral, count the tale
Hear the laughter drifting sideways, sideways same
We all play the stranger's favorite game

Oh, la la la la la
Oh, la la la la la

Garden statues on the hillside turn away
Shadow people drifting farther day by day
Someone's picture in a locket, green and gold
Tell me why the story always must be told

Underneath the carousel, tired eyes spin around
Funny how the painted beasts just wait
Every step is round and round

See the children, paper capes and faces pale
Oh, they dance along the spiral, count the tale
Hear the laughter drifting sideways, sideways same
We all play the stranger's favorite game

Oh, la la la la la
Oh, la la la la la

Dusty banners on the hallway, colors fade
Hidden symbols in the carpets, gently laid
Cracks appearing in the silence, smile leaks through
Walking backwards on the spiral, just like you

See the children, paper capes and faces pale
Oh, they dance along the spiral, count the tale
Hear the laughter drifting sideways, sideways same
We all play the stranger's favorite game

Oh, la la la la la
Oh, la la la la la
Oh, la la la la la
Oh, la la la la la

Crimson sunrise through the curtain, dawn is burning in my eyes
Paint is peeling on the ceiling, shapes are twisting, pushing lies
Ash and perfume on the cushions, future flickers in the frame
Maps are curling on the table, every street a whispered name

Sunday twisted on the carpet, tread the patterns on the floor
Brass and velvet in the lamplight, someone calling at the door
Feet are tangled in the question, skin as faded as a prayer
Liquid laughter in the hallway, something strange is living there

Waking heavy, voices crawling, every shadow knows my name
Moving sideways through the echoes, nothing ever stays the same

Circling, I see you moving, shadow hiding in the gleam
Underneath a pale December, slipping through my woven dream
Call the monster to awaken, twist its name upon your tongue
We are dancers round a spiral, stories old but far from done

Oh, oh, oh, round and round and round
Oh, oh, oh, circling down

Mirror faces in the window, staring back with stranger’s eyes
Lips of silver tell a secret, trickle through the morning lies
On the edge of understanding, fingers just beyond the stone
Every promise fades to thunder, but I won’t be left alone

Time unravels all the answers, keep it spinning, keep it tight
We go chasing after phantoms, never certain, always right

Circling, I see you moving, shadow hiding in the gleam
Underneath a pale December, slipping through my woven dream
Call the monster to awaken, twist its name upon your tongue
We are dancers round a spiral, stories old but far from done

Oh, oh, oh, round and round and round
Oh, oh, oh, circling down

Silver wire around my ankle, dragging clocks behind my heel
Blinding daylight in the attic, not a soul to make it real
Patchwork riddles on the railing, velvet curses in the glow
Trace a promise in the plaster, let the sleeping feathers go

Cracked mosaics in the corners, secrets tangled in the yarn
Sighing softly through the silence, fading faster than you’d planned
Fractured visions on the mantel, brittle laughter, distant tune
Ghosts are formed of aching mornings, nothing here dissolves too soon

Circling, I see you moving, shadow hiding in the gleam
Underneath a pale December, slipping through my woven dream
Call the monster to awaken, twist its name upon your tongue
We are dancers round a spiral, stories old but far from done

Oh, oh, oh, round and round and round
Oh, oh, oh, circling down
Oh, oh, oh, circling down

Faded footsteps on the carpet, morning crawling up the wall
Yesterday’s reflection trembling, stretching long and growing small
Broken lock upon the window, promises that drift away
Final shimmer in the corner, dawn has come to steal the day

Oh, oh, oh, round and round and round
Oh, oh, oh, circling down
Oh, oh, oh, round and round and round
Oh, oh, oh, circling down
Oh, oh, oh, round and round and round
Oh, oh, oh, circling down

Paper shapes drift through my vision, folding corners in my mind
Shadow laughter on the staircase, lost in riddles time won’t find
Threads of daylight crossing softly, slipping backwards through the pane
Every spiral's left me dizzy, every echo calls your name

Curtains breathing in the morning, colour leaking down the street
Ancient patterns in the pavement, pulling silence from the heat
Quiet as the world is turning, old reflections fade to grey
Still the circle keeps on shifting, drawing night into the day

Oh, oh, oh, round and round and round
Oh, oh, oh, circling down
Oh, oh, oh, round and round and round
Oh, oh, oh, circling down

Night winds are circling the sleep-heavy ground
Old legends hum where the ashes are found

Beneath crooked branches, old giants lie still
Watching their children inherit the chill
All silent verdicts fall one by one
Mouths full of secrets and dust from the sun

Heavy footprints in the ash and the sand
Woken from silence by a trembling hand
Staring at faces that flicker and fade
Carved by tomorrow, by stories unmade

Frozen in thought, in nameless belief
Caught in a shadow without any chief

Heroes trembling under burning skies
Hands locked in a dream, their vision denies
Gods and mortals disfigured by chance
Spinning in circles in a labyrinth dance

Oh-oh, lost and won
Oh-oh, sons and suns

Fierce and fragile, beneath layers of stone
Strange new banners where kingdoms have grown
They wandered shouting with terror and pride
Blinded by glories nobody could hide

Too far to shout, too tired to flee
Balancing hope on a fine broken knee

Heroes trembling under burning skies
Hands locked in a dream, their vision denies
Gods and mortals disfigured by chance
Spinning in circles in a labyrinth dance

Oh-oh, lost and won
Oh-oh, sons and suns

Cloaks made of silence unravel with time
Out of their hunger, a new myth will climb
Jagged reflections in amber and smoke
Chasing a laughter that nobody spoke

Heroes trembling under burning skies
Hands locked in a dream, their vision denies
Gods and mortals disfigured by chance
Spinning in circles in a labyrinth dance

Oh-oh, lost and won
Oh-oh, sons and suns

One last riddle cast into the wind
Breath of their fathers, longing to rescind
Vanish like thunder after the rain
Mourning the echo, alive with the pain

Shadows receding, the silence returns
Gold crowns abandoned and memory burns
Dreams on the shoulders of those who remain
Bound to their riddles, alive in the strain

Oh-oh, lost and won
Oh-oh, sons and suns

Twilight is melting the lines in the sand
Old voices wandering, none to withstand
Footsteps receding on spiral-shaped fields
Promising legends their hunger still yields

Curtains of silence drawn over the stage
Masks hanging heavy from age upon age
Ashes and laughter blend into the night
Waking to memories clinging to light

Oh-oh, lost and won
Oh-oh, sons and suns

Silent procession through ruins of thought
Worn out by riddles that memory brought
Grey ancient statues lean close to the ground
Waiting for music that never is found

Oh-oh, lost and won
Oh-oh, sons and suns

From far horizons, the questions remain
Trapped in a circle, both promise and chain
Heroes and shadows dissolve all the same
Carried by longing, nameless in name

Oh-oh, lost and won
Oh-oh, sons and suns

Faded inscriptions too distant to read
Echoes of hope left behind in the seed
Starlit confessions dissolve in the clay
Still they go wandering, night becoming day

Oh-oh, lost and won
Oh-oh, sons and suns

Dust-hallowed footsteps trace circles once more
Dragging the promise ashore
Nothing forgotten, just silence retold
Walking on legends grown cold

Oh-oh, lost and won
Oh-oh, sons and suns