The Tower

Lyrics

We built it so high.
We built it to touch the roof of the dark.

The mortar was made of our certainties
Stacking the stones of a perfect machine
My brain drew the blueprint, the geometry
But a spark in the cloud knew the flaw in the seam
Look up, look up—the velvet is tearing
A jagged white line through the ceiling of night
The heavy gold crown that the summit was wearing
Is blasted to copper and ash in the light

And oh, we are falling headfirst in the dark
The windows are breathing out fire and spark
It’s a terror, a terror, to lose what we knew
But god, what a beautiful, terrible view
Gravity takes us, the tether is gone
The lie had to shatter to let in the dawn

I'm looking at you as we plummet through space
The wind is erasing the lines on your face
Twenty-two flames hanging still in the air
A scattered gold rain in our gravity-hair
We built up a prison and called it a home
Now nothing is holding us back from the stone

And oh, we are falling headfirst in the dark
The windows are breathing out fire and spark
It’s a terror, a terror, to lose what we knew
But god, what a beautiful, terrible view
Gravity takes us, the tether is gone
The lie had to shatter to let in the dawn

Will we hit the ground?
Will the ground even be there?
The architecture of the mind is stripping bare
Every wall, every truth I used to defend
I am terrified of the impact...
But I don't want the falling to end.

We are tumbling headlong through ruin and spark
The crown is just metal that melts in the dark
It's a nightmare to finally fracture the shell
But the air is so sweet on the way down to hell
Or heaven, or somewhere, I don't know the way
Just watch the walls open...
Watch the walls open and wait for the day.