[Intro] The bench held The vise gripped The hammer fell The ink dripped The hand chose The cut stayed Now the maker stands By the mark he made [Verse 1] When the room gets quiet After all the sound When the dust stops rising And the tools lie down When the page quits shaking When the line goes dark There is one thing left Be answerable to the mark Not answerable to applause Not answerable to blame Not answerable to every mouth That comes to spend your name But answerable to the thing You placed into the air The cut you chose The weight you made The truth you left there [Pre-Chorus] Did it hold Did it harm Did it name Did it charm Did it open Did it bind Did it leave The living behind [Chorus] Be answerable to the mark Answerable to the line Answerable to the thing you made When the hand said mine Be answerable to the mark When the room goes still When the cut comes back asking Was this craft or will Be answerable Be answerable Do not vanish in the dark If the hand chose where to cut Stand answerable to the mark [Verse 2] A tool cannot confess A hammer cannot kneel A blade cannot explain What the wounded feel The bench will not defend you The vise will not repent The paper will not testify To what the maker meant So do not hide in method Do not hide in art Do not hide behind the sentence When it finds another heart If you put it into weather If you gave the line a spark Then stay close enough to answer For the shape of what you mark [Pre-Chorus] Not with shame Not with pride Not with polished Alibi Just with hands Open wide And the courage To stand beside [Chorus] Be answerable to the mark Answerable to the line Answerable to the thing you made When the hand said mine Be answerable to the mark When the room goes still When the cut comes back asking Was this craft or will Be answerable Be answerable Do not vanish in the dark If the hand chose where to cut Stand answerable to the mark [Bridge] Some marks need mending Some marks need flame Some marks need silence Some marks need name Some marks were mercy Some marks were wrong Some marks were only Fear made strong If it was yours Then call it yours If it was crooked Check the doors If it brought breath Then let it breathe If it brought harm Do not leave [Breakdown] Stand there Stand there When the work looks back Stand there Stand there When the bright line cracks No running No crown No clean little speech No hiding No fog No staying out of reach The mark remembers The cut can speak The hand that made it Must not grow weak [Verse 3] This is not a trial This is not a throne This is just the maker Standing with what’s known I have made some hard things I have cut too deep I have left some lines behind me That still wake up from sleep I have also opened windows I have let some prisoners out I have named a crooked silence Till it lost its borrowed mouth So I will not curse the making And I will not bless it blind I will stand beside the record And let time read the line [Pre-Chorus] Grain will speak Weight will tell Some things built Still lean like hell Some things scarred Still helped the heart Some things broken Were broken apart [Chorus] Be answerable to the mark Answerable to the line Answerable to the thing you made When the hand said mine Be answerable to the mark When the room goes still When the cut comes back asking Was this craft or will Be answerable Be answerable Do not vanish in the dark If the hand chose where to cut Stand answerable to the mark [Final Bridge] The bench holds The vise grips The hammer falls The ink drips The hand chooses The cut remembers The mark remains Past the ember The tool is useful The tool is blind The hand is answerable To what it signs The room will change The years will arc But the maker stands Answerable to the mark [Final Chorus] Be answerable to the mark Answerable to the line Answerable to the thing you made When the hand said mine Be answerable to the mark When the room goes still When the cut comes back asking Was this craft or will Be answerable Be answerable Do not vanish in the dark If the hand chose where to cut Stand answerable to the mark [Outro] The bench held The vise gripped The hammer fell The ink dripped The hand chose The cut stayed Now the maker stands By the mark he made Answerable to the mark Answerable to the mark Answerable to the mark
