I built a fire to illuminate my face
To get a clearer image of the wrinkles set in place
Nature's static from my last golden age
A record of what time takes
It's a hard truth I can't bring myself to look at
A hard truth that I've dressed up as fact
Beneath the tell-tale beating heart in my floorboards
I hid parts of me I can't look past
Now all I see are smoke and broken mirrors
Constant dog and pony shows to bring back my sight
My reflection refracts deep into my eyes
An impressionist's impression of day's gone by
It's a hard truth I can't bring myself to look at
A hard truth that I've dressed up as fact
Beneath the tell-tale beating heart in my floorboards
I hid parts of me I can't look past
I find my eyes glancing towards the sound
I pull the boards right up off the floor
The beating that I find is not the beating of my heart
But a tired soldier fighting the same old wars
It's a hard truth I can't bring myself to look at
A hard truth that I've dressed up as fact
Beneath the tell-tale beating heart in my floorboards
I hid parts of me I can't look past