[Verse 1] They stitched my name beneath a stranger’s skin, Then left me where the winter entered in. I learned your words by watching from the stair; Each time I spoke, you answered with a stare. [Pre-Chorus] What rule have I transgressed, what face must I assume? I hold my hands like questions in a room. [Chorus] O, tell me what a creature ought to say When every door is barred before the day. I am no fiend by choice, no king, no son— Just pieces asking why they were made one. [Verse 2] The lake returns a face I cannot place; A borrowed brow, a stranger’s startled grace. I practice kindness till the words turn strange; My tongue is built for pleas you call a danger. [Pre-Chorus] If I am damned, then name the deed I’ve done; I woke alone beneath a nameless sun. [Chorus] O, tell me what a creature ought to say When every door is barred before the day. I am no fiend by choice, no king, no son— Just pieces asking why they were made one. [Bridge] Maker, hear me through the snow and stone: You gave me breath, then left me all alone. I would have loved you, had you stayed to teach The gentle word, the hand, the proper speech. [Final Chorus] O, tell me what a creature ought to say When every heart recoils and turns away. I am no fiend by choice—yet here I stand, A question with your lightning in my hands. [Outro] What should I do? What should I say? The night is long. The door stays shut.
