Raise the Crimson Curtain (Tavia)

[Intro] Hush now, darlings, dim the light Lock the doors and bar the night Hear the velvet, hear the blade Hear the debt your choices made [Verse 1] I was the girl you never named The gutter spark, the little flame A pretty mouth, a sharpened grin A thing you used, a thing worn thin But oh, my loves, look how I grew What hunger makes of girls like you A sip of spite, a kiss of fear And now the whole damned dark draws near [Pre-Chorus] You thought I’d fade You thought I’d drown But broken girls can steal a crown [Chorus] So raise the crimson curtain high Let the good and holy tremble when I smile I’ll paint the alleys red with rapture String your prayers up sweet and wild Oscail an oíche, lig an fhuil ag canadh (Open the night, let the blood sing) I’ll make revenge look so divine You kept your little house of thorns Now watch me make the whole city mine [Verse 2] They call me monster, call me curse As if that makes your judgment worse You made me sharp, you made me lean Now I’m the queen of what has been Oh Roseveil kneels and whispers grace While I wear ruin on my face Red Vigil guards with loyal breath I guard with love sharpened into death And Nessa, darling, restless thing Still dancing on your shadowed string You left me once — how sweet, how bold Now watch me turn your pulse to gold [Pre-Chorus] I want your streets I want your fear I want your precious family near [Chorus] So raise the crimson curtain high Let the wicked choir echo through the tiles I’ll crown the hungry, chain the faithless Teach the meek to kneel in style Is liomsa an oíche, is liomsa bhur n-anam (The night is mine, and so are your souls) I’ll make devotion taste like wine You kept your little lamps alive Now I’ll drink every last one dry [Verse 3] I’ve got ghosts in mirrors, teeth in silk A throne built up from blood and milk Desperate boys with trembling hands And half-dead saints at my command I’ll turn your refuge to a stage Your little courage to a cage The screams, the gaslight, all that rain A perfect operetta of pain [Bridge] Oh, hear them cry! Oh, hear them run! The fun begins when mercy’s done! A snap of bone, a gasp, a plea That’s my kind of symphony! You can bless the door You can light the flame You can call your pretty thorn-maid’s name But every vow has got a seam And I was born to split the dream! [Breakdown] Fuil, fuil, tabhair dom fuil! (Blood, blood, give me blood!) Díoltas, díoltas, tabhair dom iad! (Revenge, revenge, give them to me!) Sing, my Blades, and bare your teeth Tonight we dine on grief beneath Their righteous walls, their sacred lies I want the terror in their eyes! [Final Chorus] So raise the crimson curtain high Let the bells all crack and let the children hide I’ll turn your hope into a banquet And your defiance into pride Mo choróin rua, mo chroí dubh beo (My crimson crown, my black living heart) At last the world will learn my name Not Tavia left in someone’s shadow — But the fire they failed to tame [Outro] So smile, my pets And strike the drum The night is young And I have come Is liomsa an oíche (The night is mine) Is liomsa an pian (The pain is mine) Now bow, bow low— The Blood Blades dine