[Verse 1] I placed each word on the table Aligned the edges with care You watched the corners turn unstable As if the sentence wasn't there I spoke in measured columns No marble left unturned But every door had different hinges And every answer entered burned [Pre-Chorus] You say the signal's clean I say the room is thin My mouth is making meaning Nothing is getting in [Chorus] I am speaking clearly Can you read the shape? Every syllable is dressed for you Still it can't escape I am speaking clearly With my hands held still The message reaches your side of town Then forgets its own address at will [Verse 2] A phrase escaped beneath the doorway It wore a borrowed face I heard it knocking from the hallway Then losing interest in the place The clock received my statement The wall returned it twice I tried to make the plainest version And watched it fracture into ice [Pre-Chorus] You say the line is live I say the line is long My voice arrives in perfect time Attached to something wrong [Chorus] I am speaking clearly Can you read the shape? Every syllable is dressed for you Still it can't escape I am speaking clearly With my hands held still The message reaches your side of town Then forgets its own address at will [Bridge] No code, no cipher, no disguise Just teeth and breath and open eyes I name the thing, it changes form I hold it up, it won't stay warm [Final Chorus] I am speaking clearly Can you read the shape? Every syllable is dressed for you Still it can't escape I am speaking clearly Now the room is still The message reaches your side of town And waits there against its will [Outro] I said it plainly I said it twice The words were standing Under the ice
