[Intro] I drew the ending in a picture book Gold in the frame, clean as a promise Now every page has a different look And the ink runs when I touch it [Verse 1] When I was small, I picked a castle From a cereal box and a bedroom wall Put my name beside the window Swore the little prince would never fall Now I count the locks before I sleep Keep the receipt for every dream One hand on the wheel, one hand on the brake Wondering how much a heart can take [Pre-Chorus] If I get the thing I prayed for Will it ask me for another name? If I build the room around me Will I recognize the cage? [Chorus] Was it meant to end this way? With a crown that feels like weight I wanted more than I could hold Now the wanting writes the tale Happy ever after, fading at the edge I can hear the warning in the words I never read If I keep reaching past the line Do I become the lesson in somebody else's life? [Verse 2] I bought the coat, I learned the handshake Moved my mother to a quieter street Kept the photograph above the mantle Where the child I was still looks at me He doesn't ask about the money He just points toward the painted sun I tell him, wait until tomorrow Like tomorrow hasn't already come [Pre-Chorus] Every door I force wide open Leaves a splinter in my hand Every wish I call a blessing Needs a bigger place to stand [Chorus] Was it meant to end this way? With a crown that feels like weight I wanted more than I could hold Now the wanting writes the tale Happy ever after, fading at the edge I can hear the warning in the words I never read If I keep reaching past the line Do I become the lesson in somebody else's life? [Bridge] Maybe I was born believing That the ending owed me peace Maybe wanting is a river That keeps moving when you drink I could put the knife down slowly I could leave one door unopened Or I could feed the old ambition Till it eats the name I've chosen [Final Chorus] Was it meant to end this way? With a crown that feels like weight I wanted more than I could hold Now the wanting writes the tale Happy ever after, fading at the edge The child inside the picture doesn't know what happens next If I keep reaching past the line Do I become the caution buried in the rhyme? [Outro] Close the book and dim the room Leave the final page undone If the story still belongs to me I don't have to become what I've run from
