Brother & Sister

Lyrics

[Intro]
(harp and a distant horn, a tender fable)

[Verse 1]
We ran from a house that had turned to teeth, from a stepmother's whispered spell,
and the woods were long and the day was hot and the brooks all rang like a bell.
"Don't drink," I begged him, "she's cursed the streams" — but thirst is a hard old master,
and the third brook murmured "drink me, drink" — and my brother came after.

[Chorus]
Brother, my brother, you've grown a fawn's fleet heart —
I'll tie a golden cord to you and never let us part.
Attachment is the oldest circuit, older than the fear —
I would learn the whole language of loss to keep you living near.

[Verse 2]
A king rode by and he took my hand and he took me for his queen,
but the witch came creeping into the palace with a hate the walls couldn't screen —
she drowned my joy and dressed her own in the crown I used to wear,
while my little fawn lay down at the gate and grieved on the cold stair.

[Bridge]
(the horn lifts)
But love leaves a track that a lie can't cover, a scent the heart can read —
the king kept watch, and the truth walked in, and the false bride got her meed.

[Outro]
The spell came undone at the sound of my voice and my brother stood up a man...
we were only ever each other's, love, from the moment the running began.