[Verse 1] The salt of tears still stung upon her cheek. A hollow where her heart had been. They found her there, so gentle, and so meek. And promised they could make her whole again. "We have the way," they said, "we have the key. Just come with us, and learn to simply be." [Chorus] And they taught her how to smile without a cause. To follow all their hollow, happy laws. To paint a grin upon a face of stone. To make this manufactured joy her own. This borrowed light inside a plastic sun. Until the mimicry and she were one. [Verse 2] The prophet died. The news was met with cheers. A competition of the brightest, widest smiles. To prove who'd conquered all their doubts and fears. Who'd walked the purest of their happy miles. "The most devoted will now take the lead!" A frantic, joyless, desperate, new creed. [Bridge] And in the silence of that cheer, a thought took hold and grew. If no one here is grieving, then is any of this true? This perfect, polished happiness, this never-ending show… …was built on a foundation where no real thing could grow. [Chorus] And she saw how to smile without a cause. Was just to follow their insidious laws. That grin she wore was just a painted stone. This manufactured joy was not her own. This borrowed light inside a plastic sun… …had to be undone. [Breakdown] The new rulers rose, with eyes of gleaming steel. "Prove you are happy! Prove that you can feel!" The price of her admission, she finally understood… …was the permanent destruction of all that was good. [Outro] So she packed the emptiness she owned. And walked out utterly alone. To feel the authentic, chilling air. To have a pain that was sincere. It was a colder, harder peace. But it was hers, and her release. [Music fades into a single, clean, but lonely synth melody that slowly dissolves.]
