Porcelain Prayer

[Intro – distant music box, whispering] Hush little heartbeat… The dolls are awake… [Verse 1 – calm but unsettling] On the shelf where the quiet things stay Little glass eyes watch night turn to gray Painted cheeks and a crooked grin They never blink but they always see in Thread for a mouth but I hear them breathe Tiny lungs under porcelain sleeves Every night when the house goes still I hear them slide across the windowsill [Pre-Chorus – whispered counting] One doll watching from the chair Two dolls sitting on the stairs Three dolls closer than before I swear there used to only be four… [Chorus – slow, eerie melody] Don't close your eyes They crawl when the lights go low Soft little hands in the dark below Don't fall asleep They whisper beneath the bed Sewing their smiles with living thread Hush now… hush now… Porcelain never stays dead [Verse 2 – escalation] Music box playing the same wrong note Something small moving under my coat Tiny fingers tug at my sleeve Cold little voice says "we believe" Dust on the floor where their feet should drag Porcelain toes in a little white bag I locked the door and I checked the hall Why are they standing inside my wall [Bridge – nursery rhyme tone] Ring around the rocking chair Little dolls are everywhere Stitch the eyes and count to three One for you and one for me Break the neck and bend the knee Now the dolls can finally see [Break – whispered chant] We were still We were small Then you brought us Through the hall Now we breathe Now we crawl Now your skin Fits us all [Final Chorus – chaotic / disturbing] Don't close your eyes We're under the bed tonight Porcelain teeth in the candlelight Don't try to scream Your voice belongs to us now Thread through your lips makes a perfect bow Hush now… hush now… You're one of the dolls somehow