The Margin Notes

[Intro]
[Verse]
The floorboards all groan
In a key of their own
The tea has gone cold
And the stories are sold
I trace every crack
On a yellowed-out back
Of a book no one read
Or a word left unsaid
[Verse]
I remember the girl
With her hair in a curl
Who cried on page ten
Then she found me again
And the man in the suit
Who was lonely and mute
Till he found a new world
As the chapters unfurled
[Pre-Chorus]
It’s just paper and glue
That is what they all say
But I saw the truth
In a different way
Every stain on the floor
Every knock on the door
Was a life I was keeping
While the village was sleeping
[Chorus]
I am the margin notes
In the books that they keep
I am the promise made
While the shadows are deep
They call it a small life
A quiet, unremarkable thing
But listen to the anthem
That these hollowed-out hallways sing
I chose the dust
I chose the ink
I stood on the edge
And I refused to blink
[Verse]
They say I was trapped
By the maps I unmapped
By the walls made of prose
Where the ivy-leaf grows
But I traveled much farther
Than a sailor or father
I saw kingdoms arise
Right in front of my eyes
[Pre-Chorus]
So let the trucks come
And let the shelves clear
There’s nothing to pity
And nothing to fear
Every ghost in the stack
Has got my own back
And the fire is starting
In the hour of parting
[Chorus]
I am the margin notes
In the books that they keep
I am the promise made
While the shadows are deep
They call it a small life
A quiet, unremarkable thing
But listen to the anthem
That these hollowed-out hallways sing
I chose the dust
I chose the ink
I stood on the edge
And I refused to blink
[Bridge]
(Timpani swell)
I am not a footnote!
I am not the end!
I’m the spine of the story
That refused to bend!
Look at this room
It’s a cathedral of light!
I’m the queen of the silence!
I’m the soul of the night!
Take the keys!
Take the locks!
Put my heart in a box!
But you can’t take the glory
Of a life spent in story!
[Chorus]
I am the margin notes
In the books that they keep
I am the promise made
While the shadows are deep
They call it a small life
A quiet, unremarkable thing
But listen to the anthem
That these hollowed-out hallways sing
I chose the dust
I chose the ink
I stood on the edge
And I refused to blink
[Post-Chorus]
I’m still here
In the ink
In the breath
Between the lines
Forever mine
[Outro]