Grief demands an altÆr (V6 Remix)

[Verse 1 - C3–D4 Breathy, intimate, almost spoken.breathy female vocals] ​These fucking ghosts are laughing at me, Their teeth behind the plaster wall. Black mould learning every corner, Feeding where your picture falls. Something took root beneath my ribs, And called my hollow frame a home. Now my lungs breathe borrowed weather I cannot tell if I'm alone. A dead heart dragging through tomorrow, A listless soul dressed up as skin. The house keeps letting something through, And I don't remember letting you in. ​[Pre-Chorus - D3–E4 More tension, gradually opening.] ​You never came as smoke or shadow, You never whispered from the dark. You climbed inside me full of grave soil, With churchyard mud still on your heart. ​[Chorus - E3–E4 Power rather than height. Let the guitars provide the aggression] [distorted electric guitar enters, heavy drums] ​It wasn't the thorns that made me bleed It was holding on too long, too deep! It wasn't the thorns that made me cry It was watching something beautiful decide to die! You were never just a memory... You're the corpse who learned to breathe in me. Every loss demands an altar And grief became the god I feed. [​Verse 2] [vocals return, intimate tone C3–D4 Breathy] ​You don't knock. You sit right on the edge of my bed, The mattress bending under weight That shouldn't live inside the dead. Boots still wearing half the churchyard, Wet earth drying on the floor. Morning finds the mould still blooming Exactly where you stood before. [​Pre-Chorus] ​I thought that mourning was a silence, Until it learned the way to breathe. Now every room repeats my prayers Before I think to speak. [​Chorus] [full band, high energy, gritty vocals] ​It wasn't the thorns that made me bleed It was holding on too long, too deep! It wasn't the thorns that made me cry It was watching something beautiful decide to die! You were never just a memory... You're the corpse who learned to breathe in me. Every loss demands an altar And grief became the god I feed. [​Bridge - almost whispered building to a scream.] ​Who eats the sins Of the man who buries grief? Who lays a blessing Upon an empty feast? I broke the bread. I drank the ale. I kissed the ash. I swallowed lead. I thought that hunger Would finally leave. but it learned my name Instead ​ [crescendo, layered vocal harmonies] ​[Instrumental drop / Atmospheric noise] ​Face the silent scream! A rasp A roar of air! NO SHADOW LEFT UPON THE WALL! Only the space Where breathing Used to live! [​Final Chorus] [heavy drums, belting vocals] ​It wasn't the thorns that made me bleed It was believing beauty couldn't wound! It wasn't the thorns that made me cry It was finding every grave still had room inside! — ​You are not a memory. [Outro] You're the altar. You're the priest. You're the mouth that learned my name And every time I try to bury you, You come back home... hungry again [cello fades out] (Mmm-mmm) hungry again