Another Year, Another Scream

[Verse 1] First time out, I hid till morning. Thought I'd let the village sleep. Then my wings began unfolding, And my claws released the tree. Landed hard upon a rooftop. Heard a horse kick through its stall. Tried to tell them I was frightened. Heard myself out-scream them all. Someone raised a shaking lantern. Someone dragged a child inside. I was reaching out to help them When the silver split the night. [Pre-Chorus] Woke beside the same cold table. He was waiting with the page. Didn't ask me what had happened. Only pointed to a date. [Chorus] Another year, another scream. Another town that dreams of me. They get to wake and light the fire. I get sent back through the wire. Same cold floor beneath my knees. Same old voice that won't release me. They tell the tale, he feeds the door. I close my eyes. I'm sent once more. [Verse 2] Buckled shoes and woolen collars. Then a train beside a mill. Then a car with yellow headlights Caught me standing on a hill. Different hands around the rifles. Different prayers behind the doors. Same expression when they saw me. Same old terror as before. Once I found a faded drawing Pinned beside a general store. There I was above the headline, Dated fifty years before. [Pre-Chorus] Tried to count the trips on concrete. Scratched a mark beside the frame. Ran my claws across the others. Couldn't tell which ones I'd made. [Chorus] Another year, another scream. Another town that dreams of me. They get to wake and light the fire. I get sent back through the wire. Same cold floor beneath my knees. Same old voice that won't release me. They tell the tale, he feeds the door. I close my eyes. I'm sent once more. [Verse 3] Stopped remembering the weather. Stopped expecting him to care. Stopped believing I could bargain With the man beside the chair. He would smooth another cover. I would watch his fingers turn. All the years I'd spent in terror Were a story he could learn. I could hear the current building. I could see the silver shine. Every frightened voice I'd given him Bought another trip through time. [Instrumental] [Bridge] I don't want another body. I don't want another name. Keep the life you stole before me. I just want an end to pain. Let the road go on without me. Let the next town sleep tonight. I don't want another morning If it means another flight. I would take a final darkness Over one more waking here. But the mirror keeps on opening. And I'm still here. [Final Chorus] Another year, another scream. I can't remember being me. They get to die and leave the story. I keep waking on the floor. Same cold hand upon the paper. Same old order to begin. I don't want to last forever. I don't want to go again. Another year, another scream. There's nothing left he hasn't seen. Except the thing he doesn't ask: How long can someone liv like that? [Outro] He brushed the dust from something older. Set it open by the light. A little girl. A wooded hillside. I tried to fold my wings in tight. He turned the page.