1. |
Scissors
17:23
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I) STARTING LINES
Feel the warmth of a smile, one spark can light a fire
Beacons of the heart guide the willing to the start
You know I can’t refuse, we both know all the rules
Take our marks, get set, run! I let you fire the starting gun
There’s no time to think when the game begins
And we cross the starting line
My heart starts to pound at the speed of sound
I ignore the warning signs
Led on by the stranger, running headlong into a danger zone
I am not afraid and I fail to see the trap you laid
Caught up in a moment - suddenly my body's frozen
I see in your icy stare the rules of the game were never fair
Take my energy and my memories
I give them all to you
Now I know the truth; I was meant to lose
There was nothing I could do
Flash a fistful of silver, you're the rock and I play the scissors
Cutting out the pages of my life for you to rearrange
All the threads exposed, tugging on the string my nerves unfold
I'm a plaything, I'm a captive of the Puppet King
II) THE PUPPET KING
Master of disguise and misdirection
Untroubled by fear of recognition
You couldn’t see the god within
I reveal the truth as I reel you in
I bind your limbs and control your extremities
Expose your dreams and fears and all your memories
I hold your life by the strings
Your soul belongs to the Puppet King
I pull the strings until all hope is gone
You could never hope to take me on
You think you're strong, so play along
Take these scissors next to me
If you cut the right string then I guarantee
I will set you free
The fibres in the threads are the fragments of your life
Feel them tighten as you beg to stay alive
You look so small when you're on your knees
I watch you fall as you worship me
I never said we were playing fair
Just like God I ignore your prayer
So play my game, use the blades
Take this opportunity
If you cut the wrong string then you belong
You belong
You belong to me
III) THE GAME (Instrumental)
IV) FIGHTING (Instrumental)
V) SHAME
I’m fighting
Against the strings
I turn around and catch a glimpse
I’m just another victim
I see all the lives the Puppet King collects
I'm in a trophy room filled with human marionettes
No one dares to speak against a god
I’m crying out but no-one will respond
Then I catch her eye - a girl whose heart is hollow
I can tell she lost the game so very long ago
She begged for help and we all ignored her pain
We fought alone and tried to hide our shame
It was all in vain
Reaching for her hand I let her take the blades
She’s back in the game again and hope remains
Hope remains
VI) HOPE (Instrumental)
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2. |
Mountain
07:50
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Kneeling down at your feet, there’s so much I want to say
Your majesty in all its glory takes my breath away
Beautiful and ethereal, I feel you pull me in
I surrender and you conquer me - I gave you everything
I know it's just a matter of time until I'm grounded
Such a fool for thinking I could move a mountain
But my fascination keeps me holding on
Hoping you will see how much you mean to me
I was clinging on to a heart of stone that never loved me
Never letting go even though it's killing me
At the peak you abandoned me and left me on my knees
Darkness reigns where you cast your shade but I refuse to see
Complacency has blinded me to the light behind you
You lay me low just to lift me high and I am born anew
I know it's just a matter of time until I fall again
Such a fool for thinking I could move a mountain
But my desperation keeps me holding on
Hoping you will see just how much you mean to me
I was clinging on to a heart of stone that never loved me
Never letting go even though it's killing me
It’s killing me
I feel the turn of the earth
Time stands as still as stone
Up here it’s hard to breathe
I have to find my way back home
I know all the things I told you never counted
Just another fool who thought that he could move a mountain
And this revelation keeps me moving on
You will never know you meant everything to me and now I see
I was holding on to a heart of stone that never loved me
Now I’m letting go even though it's killing me
It’s killing me
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3. |
Just For Reference
05:33
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It’s been a while since a smile became a charade
Look me in the eye and see through my façade
I try so hard to hide the way I feel
Believe the pain was never real
It was just a game, there’s no one to blame
I’m the fool for telling you what’s been on my mind
You tear me down and tell me I’m broken inside
You drag my angels through the mud
It was you who drew first blood
There’s no taking it back, no more taking it back
Voices in my head remind me who I used to be
Just for reference, to keep me hanging on to reality
You know I'll admit when I was wrong
But still you say I don’t belong
It was never enough, I was never enough
Killing ourselves so we can live a lie
I’m in on a joke without a punchline
It’s no wonder that I feel so out of breath
I’ve been laughing myself to death
Place your bets and let the games begin
I can’t believe I ever let you win
But I see clearly now, I see through you now
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4. |
January's Child
07:37
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Can you remember the way we played in the sun
Lost in summer meadows we would run and run and run
August memories turned so cold and so grey
No more hiding from the monsters lurking in the shade
There was never any room for me to speak my mind
In the house where silence festers deep inside
I’d tell them all the truth if I wasn’t so ashamed
Hated when I’m different but blamed for being the same
Autumn leaves and winter’s darkness falls
I hoped that you would be there for me through it all
How much can we take till we’re not children anymore
The pieces of our innocence are locked behind the door
I wish I could go back to those better days
I'm on the road to childhood’s end but I can't find my way
The month of January is so full of woe
Packed my bags but don’t know where to go
Reaching out to you across the great divide
Thirty-one or a thousand days you’ve been on my mind
I wish I could go back to those better days
I'm on the road to childhood's end but I can't find my way
When I had you by my side I could never feel alone
Then you broke my heart when you left me in the cold
Scrape the dust from the photograph on the shelf
It’s like a mirror but I don’t see myself
Looking back from behind the tear-stained glass
How long can I cling on to the past
I’m a captive of my fate
Locked away deep inside a house of hate
We threw away the key
I buried it with my memories
Of all our hopes and all our dreams
Exhausted all of my energy
Imagining the things we could have been
All the things we could have been
All the things we could have been
We could have been anything
I know I can’t go back to those better days
I'm not a child anymore and I will find my way
You'll be watching over me, see how much I've grown
I'll keep you in my heart so I never feel alone
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5. |
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PART I (Instrumental)
PART II
The coldest fires are found in hell
I know the road to that place all too well
So take my hand and I will guide you all the way
Down, down, down
Into darkness underground
The secrets trapped inside your broken heart
Were on your lips before they tore you apart
And you can't say a word to me as we go silently
Down, down, down
Not a single sound
Talk to me, it's not too late
We can cheat the strings of fate
Break my golden vow and steal you away
A sea of sorrow in your eyes
Wash away the tears you cried
Mercury and water rise against the tide
Daughter of the river made to run
The fury of the thunder stole your tongue
But I will keep you safe and hide you from the flames
If you come with me
I will set you free
Come with me, it's not too late
We will cheat the strings of fate
Fight the gods and monsters standing in our way
See the promise in my eyes
You and I are meant to rise
Mercury and water run into the night
Does she hear a god or just a man?
A snake with a silver tongue
She chokes on her reply
Shouts drown in her lungs
There’s no love in desperation
But freedom has a price
Quicksilver-poisoned blood
A half-life must suffice
Caught between metal and fire
Is there any way to choose
When the river of words runs dry
And there’s nothing left to lose
All the secrets, all the lies
Are just a game played by the gods
Such a hollow victory
To survive against the odds
Talk to me, it's not too late
We can cheat the strings of fate
Break my golden vow and steal you away
A sea of sorrow in your eyes
Wash away the tears you cried
Mercury and water run into the night
Come with me into the light
Escape the underworld tonight
We can be a secret hiding out of sight
Through the forest we will run
You and I can be as one
Mercury and Larunda rising like the sun
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6. |
Dead To Me
04:48
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Now that you have gone, I feel nothing, empty inside
Just a spirit set free, a bird that just can’t wait to fly
Set emotions free, break the chains that were holding you down
Lay the ghost of a drowning man, take the future in both hands now
How the fates collided and smashed into a million pieces
I will pick them up one by one and put us back together
No more beaten down, don’t apologise for everything you are
Don’t let it hold you back, don’t let it drag you screaming
Now that you’ve come so far
God knows it’s not easy
Climbing this ladder is such a scary ride
To make the jump is to risk the fall
A chance worth taking, you can always say you tried
Now just between us, I’ve been hanging on so long
To find the courage, take the monster on
No way of finding out if things you think are right
Can burst into reality and all your dreams take flight
Dead to me
You’re dead to me
So it’s the final piece, the ending to the show
You have to trust belief to finally let go
Chiming of a daybreak, your world a free-for-all
To walk along that tightrope, and never fear the fall
Never fear the fall
Never fear the fall
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7. |
Scissors (Reprise)
10:37
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VII) CUT
Sitting by the phone
Feeling so alone
As she wonders who to call
Her hand won’t stop shaking
Her heart keeps on breaking
As the silence falls
The moment burns with tears
They wash away the years
Of waiting for a change
They’re falling like the rain
On the windowpane
Of her broken cage
She cut herself loose
From choking on the noose
Of his promises of love
Striking out above her
The razor hand was covered
In a scarlet glove
He was her world till he used his words
To cut her like a knife
Her mind a blank she replied with thanks
As he destroyed her life
He carved the scars till he went too far
And she learned how not to feel
For years she prayed for the marks to fade
But her wounds will never heal
Fading in and out of reality she lost all self-control
Only sharpest scissors can make the cut to split the soul
Crying as she shivers
Freezing in the rivers
Of a blood-red broken soul
The tangled limbs of the could’ve-been-King
Lie heavy on the floor
A silver swing severing the strings
She’s not his puppet anymore
Waves of fear erode relief
As the sirens start to screech
The floor dissolves, the walls revolve
And the door seems out of reach
VIII) WAKE (Instrumental)
IX) WINNER
Feel the warmth of relief, it’s so hard to believe
I’m breathing once again without the string around my neck
How many lives were tangled in the lies
That made us rush to worship him
Victims of the Puppet King
There's so much at stake, we all lose the game
When the lines are razor-thin
Hanging by a rope helped me find my hope
To stand my ground and win
Cry for victory, we are free from the years of tyranny
The war of wire is won after all is said and done
Armed with what we learned, we lay down all our burdens
Ignite the fuse and blast across the universe
I’m a shooting star in orbit from afar
Fill the sky with silver rain
Beauty emanates as I disintegrate
And light the fire again
Light the fire again
Now the game is over I recover from exposure
To the lies irradiating all of time and space
Cheating gravity, no more strings are holding me to earth
Light the fuse and blast across the universe
Fly with me, my love! We don’t have to face this world alone
Cut the ties that bind and find a way back home
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Ghost Of The Machine Leeds, UK
A melodic progressive rock band from Yorkshire, UK. Five former members of This Winter Machine joined forces with vocalist
Charlie Bramald (Nova Cascade).
Taking the best elements from their critically acclaimed previous endeavours and pushing forward in a heavy and adventurous direction, Ghost Of The Machine has unleashed their debut album Scissorgames to the world.
... more
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If you liked Charlie's flute solo on 'Scissors' from Scissorgames, check out more of his woodwind work on Nova Cascade's critically acclaimed third album Back From The Brink.
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