[Rubato Intro] There was a wire in the kitchen wall Learning the shape of a lonely call Mama said, careful, but don't you kneel Fear is a key they can teach to steal [Verse 1] Somebody came with a polished ring Said every answer needs a licensed string Stamped every whisper, measured every breath Put a little statehouse shadow on the desk [Pre-Chorus] Who gets the handle, who gets the chain Who gets to name what the room can say [Stop-time Break] [Beat of silence] [Chorus] They put a lock on the echo They put a seal on the sound If my own house has a question Why must the courthouse come around They put a lock on the echo Hung the key where we can't see I don't need a king for a warning I need the door left free [Verse 2] Glass little mouth with a borrowed spark Talking too bright in a cautious dark I know the danger, I know the line But I won't trade my judgment for a sign [Chorus] They put a lock on the echo They put a seal on the sound If my own house has a question Why must the courthouse come around They put a lock on the echo Hung the key where we can't see I don't need a king for a warning I need the door left free [Guitar Solo] [Sparse Breakdown] Every chain says it's mercy Every gate says it's care Every soft-gloved order Wants a little more air [Bridge] Let the mother make the boundary Let the father draw the line Let the law be clear and narrow Not a hand over every mind [Full band slam back in] [Final Chorus] They put a lock on the echo They put a seal on the sound But the room remembers freedom When the heavy latch comes down They put a lock on the echo We heard the metal ring No crown can own the answer No stamp can teach it to sing
