Raise the Curtain

[Verse 1] House lights breathing Dust above the velvet rows Heart in my throat My hands still shaking Gold fringe Sequins Pinned into this borrowed gown Every doubt I’ve ever had is quaking [Pre-Chorus] But I feel that pull That hush Like the world leans in to listen Every scar Every scar starts to glisten As the dark pulls back [Chorus] Raise the curtain Let them see me Every fracture Every flame I was hiding in the hallway Now I’m singing out my name From the rafters to the rafters Let it echo through the rain Raise the curtain I’m not running I was born for this refrain [Verse 2] Old ghost voices “Play it safe and keep it small” Tried to fold myself into their measure Stage door sunsets Posters peeling on the wall Still I chased a shining Stubborn treasure [Pre-Chorus] Now the silence starts to crack As the first note finds its color All the “never”s fall and flutter To the floor like glass [Chorus] Raise the curtain Let them see me Every fracture Every flame I was hiding in the hallway Now I’m singing out my name From the rafters to the rafters Let it echo through the rain Raise the curtain I’m not running I was born for this refrain [Bridge] I am every failed audition Every whispered “try again” I am standing on a fault line Teaching stone to bend Hear the promise in the tremor Feel the tremble turn to flight I’m a single Shining second Stretching out into the night (oh, the night) [Chorus] Raise the curtain Let them see me Every fracture Every flame All the shadows in the stairwell Lift their faces to my name From the rafters to the rafters Let it ring through joy and pain Raise the curtain I’m not leaving I am staying in this frame [Outro] [orchestra swells; final held note] Raise the curtain Say my name As the echo Crowns the flame