Behind This Grin of Stone

Intro

Mm

Mm-hmm

Oh-oh

Chorus

I keep the ache beneath a grin of stone

I have wandered through the cold alone

Everyone sees the morning none the rain

I wage quiet wars that leave no stain

Can you find me past the quiet can you hear

I am weary of the face I wear

If I laid the mask down would you stay

Or turn and walk the other way

Behind this grin of stone

Verse 1

I rise before the painted hills

Pull the veil on and I go

They ask me how the winter's been

I say I'm well and look below

I have learned the gentle fib

The practiced laugh the steady hand

But when the longhouse dims to rest

There is more I never said

Pre-Chorus

If you saw behind these eyes

Would you still trust my soft replies

A thousand words I hold in stone

A thousand dreams I keep my own

Chorus

I keep the ache beneath a grin of stone

I have wandered through the cold alone

Everyone sees the morning none the rain

I wage quiet wars that leave no stain

Can you find me past the quiet can you hear

I am weary of the face I wear

If I laid the mask down would you stay

Or turn and walk the other way

Behind this grin of stone

Verse 2

I have been the arm they lean on

The open door the friend who bleeds

I wrestle shadows off the stage

Fighting fields no one sees

I carry my smile like a torch of light

A shieldmaiden still standing through the night

I hand away the best of me

And bury what they never see

Pre-Chorus

Maybe I am not made of stone

Maybe I grow tired of being alone

With all the things I tuck inside

And all the tears I will not show

Chorus

I keep the ache beneath a grin of stone

I have wandered through the cold alone

Everyone sees the morning none the rain

I wage quiet wars that leave no stain

Can you find me past the quiet can you hear

I am weary of the face I wear

If I laid the mask down would you stay

Or turn and walk the other way

Behind this grin of stone

Bridge

What if I hold no answer

What if I lost the trail

What if the strength you see in me

Is only how I fail

I do not need you to mend me

I do not need you to know it all

I only need someone to listen

When I am tired of standing tall

Maybe there is a fire

Beyond the frost I keep

Maybe I do not have to hide

Each splinter buried deep

Warrior Refrain

I am a shieldmaiden in disguise

With a thousand storms behind my eyes

Every clash becomes a tale I hold

Every scar a story never told

They see the grin they see the light

They do not know what I fight at night

And though the halls may never realize

There is a warrior behind these eyes

Final Chorus

I KEEP THE ACHE BENEATH A GRIN OF STONE

I HAVE SEARCHED FOR REASON THROUGH THE COLD ALONE

Everyone sees the morning NOW I SHOW YOU ALL THE RAIN

I DO NOT HAVE TO CARRY THIS FOREVER THROUGH THE PAIN

Can you find me past the quiet

I AM STILL HERE BEHIND THESE EYES

I am more than all the hurt I carry

More than every soft disguise

You do not need to see perfection

You do not need to love the mask

You can meet me as I truly am

A warrior at last

Outro

Maybe tomorrow I will let one in

The soul I kept beneath my skin

No polished words no practiced lines

Just an honest breath a few more times

And if you ask me how I am tonight

Perhaps I'll tell you what I hide

The halls may never know what lives behind these eyes

But I am learning I don't have to hide

Not every truth needs a disguise

Not every tear needs a lie

Just a heart that's learning to rise

A warrior in disguise