The Button Jar Survey

[Intro]\n\n[Verse]\nThe jar sits heavy on my knee\nA glass-blown ghost of history\nSorting through the plastic white\nIn this dusty attic light\n\n[Verse]\nShell buttons clink like silver rain\nWashing out the hidden stain\nOld lace from a thrift-store bin\nHolding all the secrets in\n\n[Chorus]\nOh, the wings are made of paper\nTurning dreams to golden vapor\nTiger swallowtails in the dust\nLove is just a layer of rust\nShe kept it in a mason jar\nLike a cold and distant star\n\n[Verse]\nSun-bleached flannel at the cuff\nShe never felt quite good enough\nMason jars with tiny holes\nBreathing for the quiet souls\n\n[Verse]\nNotes tucked in the shell and bone\nWritten when she was alone\nMapping out the valley floor\nWanting so much more and more\n\n[Pre-Chorus]\nShe walked the mossy stone wall line\nFollowing the scent of pine\nCounting every wing that flew\nWatching him the whole day through\nHe held the map, she held her breath\nA quiet life, a quiet death\n\n[Chorus]\nOh, the wings are made of paper\nTurning dreams to golden vapor\nTiger swallowtails in the dust\nLove is just a layer of rust\nShe kept it in a mason jar\nLike a cold and distant star\n\n[Bridge]\nNineteen-sixty-four in faded ink\nStanding on the jagged brink\nMarking where the monarchs rest\nWhile her heart beat in her chest\nHe wore green and a silver star\nNever knew how close they are\nThe survey markers stay in place\nLike the lines upon her face\n\n[Verse]\nGrandma said she had a mind\nOf the sharp and silver kind\nBut she kept her wings pressed flat\nUnderneath a Sunday hat\n\n[Verse]\nNow the buttons hit the floor\nLike a knock upon the door\nLace and dust and yellowed tape\nThere was never an escape\n\n[Post-Chorus]\nDust of the swallowtail\nLight and thin and frail\nHidden in the button jar\nUnderneath a distant star\n\n[Chorus]\nOh, the wings are made of paper\nTurning dreams to golden vapor\nTiger swallowtails in the dust\nLove is just a layer of rust\nShe kept it in a mason jar\nLike a cold and distant star\n\n[Outro]