[Outside the Circle] [ Verse 1 ] The sawdust floor is scattered in the dim and yellow light We’re crowded ‘round the corner on a humid Friday night The jokes began to sharpen like a blade against the bone About the one who wasn't there and stood out all alone [ Pre-Chorus 1 ] The laughter had a hollow ring within the smoky air A heavy weight was pulling at the back of every chair [ Chorus 1 ] Sometimes the hardest road is paved in staying true No matter what the circle says or what they want from you It’s better to be standing on the outside of the lie Than holding onto brothers while the spirit starts to die [ Verse 2 ] The flick of a shared lighter suddenly felt cold As a story we all knew was being cruelly told I cleared my throat and cut the thread that tied us in a knot I spoke his name with kindness in that suffocating spot [ Pre-Chorus 2 ] The rhythm of the drinking slowed until it hit the floor I knew I couldn't walk that path of venom anymore [ Chorus 2 ] The price of being honest is a lonely kind of grace When you look a lifelong friend directly in the face To keep a piece of yourself whole you have to let them go And find the strength to carry what the others will not know [Instrumental Break - Blazing Electric Guitar Solo] [ Bridge ] Amber in a glass upon a scratched and wooden table Watching every hand go still because they aren't able To look me in the eye as silence turns to stone The heavy, airless weight of being right and all alone [ Verse 3 ] I walked out through the gravel while the engine started cold Mist upon the window blurred the faces once called gold The roar of easy laughter rose again inside the hall While I answer to the darkness and the shadows on the wall [ Pre-Chorus 3 ] The bridge is burning bright behind the footsteps that I take But some foundations are the kind you simply have to break [ Final Chorus ] My character is measured by the fires I have to light To keep the truth from fading in the middle of the night It's better to be broken and be standing on my own Than selling off my conscience just to never be alone [ Outro ] The phone begins to vibrate with a name I won't reply Just a shadow in the lot beneath a heavy sky Leaving all the safety for a clean and honest slate Walking through the silence toward a different kind of fate
