THE BLADE WROTE TWICE

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THE BLADE WROTE TWICE lyrics

Artist-supplied lyric sheet, matched by title. The sheet may differ from this released performance. Production notes and alternate promotional cuts are omitted.

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Verse 1

Fifteen, two book bags dropped by the stairs We wore borrowed courage like it answered our prayers A man sold a promise wrapped tight in old cloth Said, "Keep this nearby and the danger backs off" We named it "Guard" like a dog at the gate Fed it our worry, let it sleep where we ate It spoke without sound: I can settle the score By winter, that metal was choosing the door My friend said, "Now nobody makes us run" I watched his hands shake while he called it calm We thought we bought peace for a handful of cash Did not know a shield could be learning our past

Chorus

Some never notice the blade until it points back It promised us shelter, then studied the cracks It called us its brothers, then counted our tracks A guard with no conscience can never love back Some never notice the blade until it points back

Verse 2

Twenty, the old joke had sharpened its teeth It rode in the car and sat under our speech A look became language, a rumor became law We entered each room with our backs to the wall It chose who we trusted, it shortened our sleep Made pride feel expensive and mercy feel weak My friend heard a threat in a shoulder turned wrong I heard that old promise rehearsing its song Five years of "protection" had narrowed the street Till nobody knew where our judgment would meet Then one crowded night, one argument snapped One sound split the room and our childhood collapsed He did not come home; I came home with the past The friend we called Guard had finally pointed back

Chorus

Some never notice the blade until it points back It promised us shelter, then split what we had It called us its brothers, then counted our tracks A guard with no conscience can never love back Some never notice the blade until it points back

Verse 3

Twenty-five, evidence sealed in a bag His mother sat folded, her hands in her lap The clerk read the charges; the room held its breath One chair for the living, one file for the dead That weapon lay quiet, all loyalty spent A cold little witness that never repents The judge closed the record with dates and a seal But memory keeps court with no right of appeal I answered each question, then stared at my hands We called it protection; it answered to chance The record said "survivor." I heard "you were there." No sentence can measure the weight of that chair

Verse 4

After the courthouse I drove to the hill Set two paper cups where we used to sit still No flowers could answer, no stone could reply I told him our guardian fed us a lie I told him I should have called danger by name Not dressed up our panic and handed it faith A low string kept pulling one note through the air I left one cup full and took grief from there

Outro

When the next child asks what kept us alive I will not make fear sound noble or wise I will show them a door they can open and leave A friend who says "talk" before anger can speak A phone that gets answered, a home with a key Hands built for holding when words disagree When pressure says metal is all that you have Remember the blade always bargains in halves One name in the earth, one mind bearing the past Let our children inherit a way that leads back

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01 / The opening