THE VEIL YOU STOLE FROM ME
[Intro — tense bowed strings; a single, uneven drumbeat] [Verse 1 — restrained female vocal; quiet accusation] You lit the anniversary candles And poured the wedding wine. I found it in your father’s chest, Beneath the cloth and twine. Still smelling of the mountain rain, Still silver at the seam— The thing you swore the river took The night you rescued me. [Pre-Chorus — low strings gathering] I laid it down beside your glass. You couldn’t find a word. Outside, beneath the mountain moon, The sleeping branches stirred. [Chorus — heavy, controlled; melody opening] You never made me love you— You only made me stay. You folded up the wind I wore And put my world away. Now watch me lift the veil you stole And feel the rafters sway. You never made me love you— You only made me stay. [Verse 2 — stronger; gadulka weaving around the voice] The linen settles on my shoulders; The candle flames bend low. My feet remember mountain dances, The steps you didn’t know. Wild thyme comes breathing through the room; The beams begin to creak. You ask me if I ever loved you— Then beg me not to speak. [Chorus — pounding uneven rhythm; fierce harmonies] You never made me love you— You only made me stay. You folded up the wind I wore And put my world away. Now watch me lift the veil you stole And feel the rafters sway. You never made me love you— You only made me stay. [Bridge — exposed voice above a low drone] Don’t tell them that the forest stole me. Don’t say I lost my way. Tell them where you hid my freedom. Tell them what I found today. You can keep the wedding silver— I am taking back the sky. [Instrumental — wild gadulka; rising kaval; explosive Balkan dance rhythm] [Final Chorus — fully unleashed; soaring and defiant] You never made me love you— You only made me stay. I wear the wind upon my shoulders; I feel the mountains wake. The veil you stole is mine again. Your hand falls from the gate. You never made me love you— And you will never make me stay! [Outro — guitars stop; solitary flute and close voice] Keep the anniversary. This is the day I left.
