👑 GRAVES OF THE CROWN 💫⏰️THE LADY WHO STOLE MIDNIGHT

[Intro – Haunted music box, ticking clock, distant piano] [ROWENA – Female theatrical spoken voice, playful and eerie] Tick... tock... Tick... tock... Oh, my darling... Have you ever wondered where the thirteenth hour goes? [Rowena – High-pitched theatrical laughter] Ha! Ha! Haaaa! [Clock strikes twelve] [Explosive melodic guitar riff, pounding drums] [Verse I – DUNCAN, male warm clear high tenor] Beyond the gates of yesteryear, Where vanished dreams and ghosts appear, I found a house of velvet red, Where clocks stood still and roses bled. A thousand candles crowned the hall, Yet not a shadow dared to fall. And there, beneath the chandelier, A lady smiled and drew me near. [Pre-Chorus – DUNCAN, msle ,rising melodic intensity] O mistress of the stolen hour, What secret grants thee such a power? Why doth the moon refuse to fade? What dreadful bargain hast thou made? [Chorus – DUNCAN, male ,soaring high tenor, powerful melodic metal] Oh, Lady of the Midnight! Keeper of the endless night! Thou hast stolen time from heaven, Hidden dawn beyond our sight! Let the silver bells awaken, Let the frozen stars descend! For a heart that beats forever May be longing for an end! [ROWENA female – Short theatrical spoken interruption] An end? Oh, darling... How terribly ordinary! [Wild female laughter] [Verse II – DUNCAN, male ,dramatic clean tenor] She wore a crown of withered roses, And spoke in riddles none could know. Behind the mirrors, pale and broken, A thousand stolen faces glowed. She offered me a dance eternal, A single memory for her hand. But every name beneath the marble Was one forgotten by the land. [ROWENA – Female gothic cabaret singing, eccentric, sharp vocal jumps] Come, come, my pretty stranger! Dance upon the edge of danger! Give me one sweet memory, And I shall grant eternity! [ROWENA female – Sudden low raspy growl] ETERNITY! [Pre-Chorus – DUNCAN maleb, emotional rising tenor] O cruel enchantress, hear my cry! What worth hath life if none may die? A thousand souls within thy keeping, A thousand hearts forever weeping! [Chorus – DUNCAN ONLY male , soaring melodic vocals] Oh, Lady of the Midnight! Keeper of the endless night! Thou hast stolen time from heaven, Hidden dawn beyond our sight! Let the silver bells awaken, Let the frozen stars descend! For a heart that beats forever May be longing for an end! [Instrumental – Darius melodic guitar solo, Erion dramatic pipe organ, Taron driving double kicks] [Verse III – DUNCAN, soft emotional tenor, gradually building] I drew the curtains from the windows, And let the silver moonlight through. The lady trembled in the silence, Her painted smile was breaking too. "For centuries I've feared the morning, For dawn shall take my soul away." Yet in her eyes I saw no monster, But one who longed to see the day. [Bridge – ROWENA female, whispered, vulnerable, theatrical] One little dance... One little lie... One little kiss Before I die... [ROWENA female – Sudden operatic high note] But I am NOT afraid! [ROWENA female – Short fierce guttural growl] LET THE CLOCKS AWAKE! [Heavy guitar breakdown] [DUNCAN male – Powerful ascending clean tenor] Then let the ancient heavens thunder! Let every chain be torn asunder! No stolen hour shall bind the free, No shadow owns eternity! [Final Chorus – DUNCAN, male majestic soaring high tenor, full band] Oh, Lady of the Midnight! See the dawn beyond the night! All the stars that thou hast stolen Now surrender to the light! Let the silver bells awaken, Let the final curtain fall! For the heart that feared tomorrow Was the bravest heart of all! [Outro – Piano and fading strings] [ROWENA female – Soft theatrical whisper] Tick... Tock... [Clock strikes one] [ROWENA female – Gentle, mysterious] My darling... Who shall keep the midnight now? [One quiet laugh] [Silence]