THE WITCHING HOUR When the Night Knows Your True Name [Intro – FEMALE (The Witch, soft, intimate, seductive)] Come closer... You've been running from yourself... Long enough... The night remembers... Even when you don't... --- [Verse 1 – MALE] Something called beneath my skin, Like a memory older than I've ever been. Every road I swore I'd left Led me back to this haunted breath. Branches reached like patient hands, Moonlight drew forgotten plans. Every fear I'd learned to wear Lost its power in the midnight air. The silence wasn't empty... It was waiting... For me. --- [Pre-Chorus – MALE with FEMALE echoes] The clock struck twelve... The forest breathed... FEMALE (echo): "Say my name..." Every heartbeat pulled me deeper... FEMALE (echo): "Don't be afraid..." --- [Chorus – MALE lead, FEMALE harmonies] At the witching hour... The moon called out my name. Not the one the world created... Not the one baptized in shame. She touched every hidden scar, Every dream I'd left behind. The darkness wasn't hunting me... It was asking me... To come alive. --- [Verse 2 – MALE / FEMALE dialogue] MALE She stepped through silver mist, Black roses in her hair. Every raven turned to watch... As if they'd known she'd be there. Her eyes carried ancient storms, Her smile undid my fear. FEMALE "They feared what they could never own..." "They burned the wise..." "But truth..." "Always returns..." MALE Every word became a fire... Inside my chest. --- [Pre-Chorus – MALE / FEMALE] The candles bowed... The blood moon climbed... FEMALE (seductive): "The night knows your true name..." --- [Chorus – MALE lead / FEMALE harmonies] At the witching hour... Every chain became a flame. Every broken piece remembered... Who I was before the shame. She kissed every buried dream, Every part I'd learned to hide. The darkness wasn't my prison... It became... My guide. --- [Bridge – FEMALE solo] "Come closer..." "Take off the mask..." "Lay it into the fire..." "You were never broken..." "Only buried..." "Only sleeping..." "If becoming whole is wicked..." "Then burn with me..." --- [Bridge Part II – MALE] For the first time... I wasn't afraid... Of the dark... I was afraid... Of ever leaving it again. --- [Final Chorus – MALE lead / FEMALE soaring harmony] At the witching hour... The veil became the sky. I found the soul I'd sacrificed... Just to survive. Dance beneath the blood-red moon... Where every shadow sings. She never stole my soul... She gave me back... Everything. --- [Outro – FEMALE] When the sun returns... They'll say... It was only a dream... Smile... And let them believe it.
