[Intro] [Music box motif, cello drone] [Verse 1] [Childlike vocal, sparse] Once there lived a paper girl inside a paper house, With paper curtains on the windows and paper flowers out. She’d smooth her little paper dress and straighten every seam, Then stand beside the candlelight to study what she’d be. She’d fold herself a little more whenever she looked wide, And tuck away the crooked bits she couldn't stand inside. [Pre-Chorus] [Whispered] And she’d whisper to the glass, As if it whispered back: [Chorus] [Sad, grand swell] To the stranger in the mirror Who knows every flaw I keep, The face that's so familiar, Who cuts just a little too deep. You show me every ugly truth, The parts I try to hide — I turn away to tear myself apart Just to fix what's wrong inside. [Verse 2] They told the paper girl she was pretty, so she tried to play along, But she could see a thousand mistakes where everyone else saw-none. She took a little pencil to draw herself anew, Erase a line, redraw a curve, until the page wore through. She smoothed the wrinkles with her hands, as though they weren’t her own, And every time she changed her shape she felt a little less at home. [Refrain] [Music box and cello] “Just one more fold, just one more crease... One little change and I’ll finally be at peace.” [Childlike choir echo] Hush now, paper girl, don’t you cry. Close the curtains, turn off the light. Fold the edges, smooth the seams. Make yourself the way you dream. [Verse 3] [Sparse, stripped back] The paper house grew smaller as she folded walls within. She made the windows narrower so no one could look in. She stopped inviting people round, she said she liked the quiet, But every night before the glass she’d start another fight: Jekyll and Hyde The ugly side I hide I want to turn away But I always come back Face to face Again with you (reflection replies) [Harsh, angry whisper- voice raising louder] “You’re too wide.” “You’re too strange.” “Why can’t you just stay the same?” “You were prettier yesterday.” “Why can’t you always look that way?” [Bridge] [Frantic, building tension] She took the blade, the mirror took the lead, To fix every error her shadow decreed. She folded her edges, she pulled at her skin, To force herself smaller than she’d ever been. Erase every shadow, rub out every line She worked on her body to redefine. She pressed down too hard, and the paper wore thin... Until there was nothing left holding her in. [Chorus] [Full orchestra swell, dark climax] To the stranger in the mirror Who watched the canvas break: There’s nothing left to fold away, No more mistakes to make. The pencil wore down to the wood, The paper tore in two In trying to fix every piece of herself, There’s nothing left of you. [Outro] [Music box only, quiet dark lullaby] Hush now, paper girl, don’t make a sound. There’s nothing of you left to be found. Folded too small, erased through the skin... You fixed every flaw, but there’s no one within. Hush now, paper girl, close your eyes. You finally reached your perfect size. [Whispered fade] Folded away... Nothing left to tear... Looked in the mirror... But no one was there. [Fade Out] [End]
