Ouroboro

# OROBORO [Intro — low and hypnotic] Oro—boro— Round and round. The end is lost. The lost is found. The mouth becomes The only door. No after. No before. [Verse 1] I fled the ache; the ache kept pace. I changed my name; it wore my face. I cursed the road beneath my feet, Then paved the path I meant to flee. I called it fate to call me free. The chain was mine; the key was me. Each lock I learned at last to break Revealed the lock I chose to make. [Pre-Chorus] Need became greed; greed became need. I fed the thought; the thought fed me. I feared the cure, adored the sore— Who would I be without the war? [Chorus] Oroboro, round I go. I follow the hollow below. I feed the need; the need feeds me. I forge the chain; the chain forms me. I name the pain; the pain names me. I call it fate to call me free. No after, no first, no before— Oroboro, round I go. [Verse 2] I killed the self I was before. It rose and wore my shape once more. Each past I buried out of sight Rose up ahead, disguised as time. If memory makes the man I am, Am I the wound or wounded man? If I release the grief I know, Who will remain to let it go? [Pre-Chorus] Fear became faith; faith became fear. I fled myself and found me here. I gilded every grief I bore And wore the wound I once abhorred. [Chorus] Oroboro, round I go. I follow the hollow below. I feed the need; the need feeds me. I forge the chain; the chain forms me. I name the pain; the pain names me. I call it fate to call me free. No after, no first, no before— Oroboro, round I go. [Bridge — building] I blamed the wheel; I named it fate. Then saw my mouth had made the shape. I feared the end; I feared release. Who would I be without my grief? No god had drawn the ring for me. I made the chain; the chain made me. To break the loop, I break the lie— But what survives when it has died? [Breakdown] O— The open mouth. O— The hollow crown. What goes around Comes back around. Oro— Gold on grief. Boro— Bite and bind. I gild the chain, Then call it mine. [Final Chorus — full intensity] OROBORO, ROUND I GO. I KNOW THE HOLLOW WAITS BELOW. I FED THE NEED; THE NEED FED ME. I FORGED THE CHAIN; THE CHAIN FORMED ME. I NAMED THE PAIN; THE PAIN NAMED ME. I CALLED IT FATE TO CALL ME FREE. NO AFTER, NO FIRST, NO BEFORE— OROBORO, ROUND I GO. [Post-Chorus — overlapping] Round I go, Go where I’ve been. Out becomes in. The end begins. I am the mouth. I am the door. I am the less That hungers for more. [Outro — returning to the beginning] Oro—boro— Round and round. The end is lost. The lost is found. The mouth becomes The only door. No after. No before. Oroboro, Round I go…