[Intro – male voice] They named me for the weapon, not the hand that held his own. [Verse 1] We were kings above the rooftops, Two black shapes against the moon. Peter swore the dawn would fear us. I believed him. I was young. We stole hours from the church bells, Made a kingdom out of rain. He knew every door to nowhere. He was still my closest friend. [Pre-Chorus] Then my voice grew deep and unfamiliar. Then a birthday marked the wall. Peter looked at me like something He had never loved at all. [Chorus] Hook was once a boy. Peter knew his real name. They ran beneath the same black stars. They answered just the same. Hook was once a boy Before the clocks began. Peter didn’t fear the monster. Peter feared the growing man. [Verse 2] He came smiling after midnight, Said that age was a disease. Said the world had crawled inside me, Said he had to set me free. He called growing up betrayal. I called it staying alive. He marked the hand that once held his And watched the childhood in me die. [Pre-Chorus] He expected me to vanish. Expected time to take the blame. But wounds can hold a memory When the world forgets a name. [Chorus] Hook was once a boy. Peter knew his real name. They ran beneath the same black stars. They answered just the same. Hook was once a boy Before the clocks began. Peter didn’t fear the monster. Peter feared the growing man. [Bridge] I don’t follow him for vengeance. Vengeance would be clean. I follow every bedroom light, Every face he leaves unseen. I follow names erased from records, Empty clothes and vacant beds. Every child the world forgets Still leaves a voice inside my head. [Breakdown] Don’t call me captain. Don’t call me cruel. Don’t call me what He taught the world to use. Before the iron, Before the scar, Before the story made me wrong— My name was James. [Female whisper] James. [Final Chorus] Hook is still the boy Peter couldn’t make disappear. He kept his name through every night. He carried every year. Hook was once a boy, And that boy survived his friend. The monster isn’t growing old. The monster never lets it end. [Outro] Peter feared the growing man. He should.
