[INTRO] [VERSE 1] Round and round the handle goes Wood against the bone Winter comes to eat the rose And claim the silent stone. I keep the watch, I keep the flame Though dust is on the floor I speak the syllables of your name To lock the iron door. [PRE-CHORUS] The spider weaves a wedding veil Across the empty chair The wind is telling distinct tales Of frost and empty air. They said you’d come before the snow To take me from the keep But that was many lives ago... Why do I not sleep? [CHORUS] Oh, the wheel must never stop Or the dark will win Turn the crank until the drop Where the ends begin. My hands are grey, my heart is cold The sun forgets to rise A story told, and told, and told Behind these granite eyes. [VERSE 2] I heard a footstep in the hall I cried out to the void But it was just the tapestry By time and moth destroyed. I look upon the mirror glass But see no face within Just the shadows as they pass And the grinding of the pin. [BRIDGE / BUILD-UP] (Whispers) Turn the wheel... Turn the wheel... (Sung) It binds the soul! (Whispers) Break the wheel... Break the wheel... (Sung) It takes the toll! The marrow dries! The timber snaps! The castle starts to fall! There is no time! There are no maps! No answer to my call! [CLIMAX] I am the ghost! I am the wall! I am the silence after all! The wheel is broken on the floor! You are not coming anymore! (Wordless vocalizing—high, tragic melody over the heavy chugging rhythm) Ah-aaaah-oh... Ah-aaaaah-oh... [OUTRO] The crank stands still. The candle dies. Close... My eyes.
