THE REDDER YOU BLOOM [Verse 1 — intimate, almost whispered] I found you by accident, A little heaven dressed in red, Bought every rose my hands could hold, And brought that heaven home instead. I planted you beneath my window, So morning had a reason to arrive, I thought I gave you earth and sunlight— I never knew you'd ask for life. [Pre-Chorus] Then one by one your colors faded, Your velvet faces kissed the ground, I tried the rain, I tried the sunlight, But nothing turned your dying around. [Chorus] Till my blood fell on the roses, And the roses raised their heads, Like a hundred little heartbeats Waking suddenly from death. Oh, the redder you bloom, The paler I grow, You drink from my veins What the rivers don't know. And if loving you kills me, There's one thing I choose— I'd rather die watching you blossom Than live watching you lose. [Verse 2 — darker pulse enters] The next day I came willingly, No accident, no careless blade, I opened up another wound And watched another flower wake. Every drop became a petal, Every weakness made you strong, Something beautiful was happening, Something beautiful was wrong. People gathered by the garden, They praised the colors, praised the view, No one saw behind the window How little of me still was new. [Pre-Chorus] They said, “What magic grows these roses? What secret makes them shine this way?” I smiled and pulled my sleeves down farther— Some prices aren't for words to say. [Chorus] 'Cause my blood fell on the roses, And the roses learned my name, Every crimson drop I gave them Came returning as a flame. Oh, the redder you bloom, The paler I grow, You drink from my veins What the rivers don't know. And if loving you kills me, There's one thing I choose— I'd rather die watching you blossom Than live watching you lose. [Instrumental Break — cello, electric guitar, distant wordless female vocal] [Bridge — music falls almost silent] I could have pulled you from the garden. I could have left you there to die. I could have saved what still was in me... God knows I had the right. But love is not always salvation, Sometimes love is a beautiful thief; You know the hand that's stealing from you— And still you offer it the key. So take the red that's left inside me, Take tomorrow, take tonight. If I must disappear to keep you, Then disappear I might. [Final Chorus — full orchestral lift] Let my blood fall on the roses, Let them rise above my grave, Let the whole world praise their beauty, Never knowing what I gave. Oh, the redder you bloom, The paler I grow, Till nothing is left But the garden below. Don't tell me love should save me— Some loves were born to consume. If my last breath can become your spring... Then take it— and bloom. [Outro — stripped back to piano and cello] In the morning they found the garden More beautiful than before... My clothes were lying among the roses, But I wasn't there anymore. And where my final heartbeat vanished, One crimson flower grew... The redder you bloom... The paler I grew. Bloom.
