Midnight Sovereign

[INTRO – low toms, distant choir, clean guitar arpeggios] [VERSE 1] Black lace morning, ash on my tongue Boot prints cracking through the chapel mud They wrote my name in whispered fears Called me poison, called me weird Velvet thunder in my veins Rusted halo, painted stains Every rumor was a chain Till I learned to love the weight [PRE-CHORUS] You can clutch your little pearls in the front row pew But the girl you tried to bury just outgrew you [CHORUS] Raise a glass for the midnight sovereign Crown of scars, lipstick like a warning I rule the ruin that you left me in Turn every ghost to gasoline Sing it loud for the midnight sovereign Broken wings still drag the sky open I am the storm that your church bells ring You cannot kill what was born to reign [VERSE 2] Graveyard locker, secrets inside Note in the margins said "refuse to hide" You called me wicked for wanting more But I carved my truth in the oak bar door Smudged black kohl and a sinner grin Every side eye just lets me in If I am the curse in your bedtime prayer Why does your daughter dye her hair [PRE-CHORUS] You can burn another doll in your little crusade I already lit the match that set me unafraid [CHORUS] Raise a glass for the midnight sovereign Crown of scars, lipstick like a warning I rule the ruin that you left me in Turn every ghost to gasoline Sing it loud for the midnight sovereign Broken wings still drag the sky open I am the storm that your church bells ring You cannot kill what was born to reign [BRIDGE – guitars drop to half time, strings and choir swell] Call me witch, call me plague, call me everything wrong I will etch it on my ribs and make it part of the song In the sepulcher of shame where you left me to bleed I grew teeth, I grew thorns, I grew everything I need [BRIDGE TAG – full band hits] Every cut is a ruby in my shadow crown Every "sit down, girl" is why I run this town [FINAL CHORUS – biggest lift] Raise a glass for the midnight sovereign Crown of scars, lipstick like a warning I rule the ruin that you left me in Turn every ghost to gasoline Sing it loud for the midnight sovereign Choir of wolves at my back, all howling I am the thunder in the hymn you sing You cannot kill what was born to reign [OUTRO – guitars ring, floor toms and low choir fade] Midnight sovereign Long live the black lace queen