[Short Intro - 4 bars: Bright Steinway Piano Chops & Fast Acoustic Violin Flurries, 122 BPM] ......"He asked me where the prison was." [Verse 1: Intimate Male Vocals, Driving Piano & Tight Kick] A misty rain along the street The pavement dark beneath my feet The painted lawns were manicured Inside our quiet world secured A stranger walked the avenue A jagged scar cut hard in view He looked across our gated space Like someone who had known the place [Pre-Chorus: Building Energy, Rising Bassline] He stopped beside my trimmed white pine And pointed down the concrete line He said, "Where is the warden's gate?" "Where do the captives sit and wait?" [Chorus: Explosive Full Belt, Soaring Harmonies & Four-on-the-Floor Drive] Where is the prison, where's the gate? Behind the quiet lives we make? No iron bars or heavy chain Just painted houses in the rain We buy the peace and pay the cost And never count the dreams we lost No locks upon the door in sight Behind the gilded cage tonight [Verse 2: Driving Rhythm, Electric Guitar Chords & Snare Pocket] I gave a laugh and shook my head "You’ve got it wrong, my friend," I said "There are no guards or towers here" "Just honest folks who live without fear" He looked me straight into the soul A broken man who once was whole He said, "You think you're truly free" "Because you keep what you can see?" [Pre-Chorus: Building Energy, Rising Bassline] He pointed to my shiny door And asked what I was running for He said, "The cell that binds your mind" "Is the safest one you’ll ever find" [Chorus: Explosive Full Belt, Soaring Harmonies & Four-on-the-Floor Drive] Where is the prison, where's the gate? Behind the quiet lives we make? No iron bars or heavy chain Just painted houses in the rain We buy the peace and pay the cost And never count the dreams we lost No locks upon the door in sight Behind the gilded cage tonight [Bridge 1: Half-Time Dynamic Drop, Solo Steinway Piano & Resonant Cello] I looked into the window glass And watched the purple shadows pass A quiet house with empty air And all the things I bought to care [Guitar & Violin Solo: Soaring Melodic Crying Lead Guitar & Fast Acoustic Violin Flurries, 122 BPM] [Bridge 2: Galloping Beat, Vocal Intensity Peaks at Maximum Belt] He vanished out into the chill The mist was rolling down the hill I held my door key in the light And wondered who was locked inside [Final Chorus: Maximum Triumphant Elevation, Full Stacked Harmonies & Strings] Where is the prison, where's the gate? Behind the quiet lives we make? No iron bars or heavy chain Just painted houses in the rain We buy the peace and pay the cost And never count the dreams we lost No locks upon the door in sight Behind the gilded cage tonight [Outro: Spoken & Whispered Dialogue, Solo Piano & Gentle Cello Swell] ......"No bars... no guards... no iron gate." ......"Just a comfortable cage." ......"And we locked it ourselves." [Final Piano Chord Ringing Out to Silence] [End]
