Elkram - The Tell-Tale Heart (feat. Colin Yee) Lyrics

The frigid winter air contained the pungent smell of death
As an old man all alone exhaled his wilted final breath
No heir to his possessions, no family left
No friends to mourn his bitter end, or feel bereft
But a servant of that man stood near, yet no remorse beset him
A young boy, but he realized that that severed connection
Was a blessing sent by God, an act of holy redemption,
Because the old man would have dragged him straight to hell if he'd had let him
So he looked upon the corpse, as it sunk into the ground
With its cold eyes that stared back, and its heart that made no sound
And for the first time in his life, the boy he felt no longer bound
And he vowed to ne'er forget this sense of freedom that he'd found

Ten years went by, the boy was now a man of twenty-three
The old man's yoke replaced by life's responsibilities
This sense of freedom there, but weaker than it used to be
His thankfulness to God rested with false security
Until one morning he woke up to a strange sound in his head
A rumble from the deep that seemed to fill his mind with dread
But he pushed it to the side, and he assured himself inside
So the flood of life's routine would come take precedence instead
But each more that sound was there, and each night the sound grew stronger
And the tranquil life that man knew wouldn't appease it any longer
The rumble turned to ringing, the ringing to a beat
And it was then that the man recognized the sound of his defeat

The man set out to find from whence this beating did arise
So he searched until his search came to a place that he despised
And staring at that grave in which an old man's body lies
The mistakes that he had made, he now came to realize
For the beating in his head that at one point he could control
Joined the rhythmic thump beneath his feet, emerging from that hole
Desires of the damned broke free, engulfing his mind whole
A crescendoed symphony overpowering his soul
And it grew louder than the freedom that he swore he wouldn't forget
It grew louder than the heavenly power that satisfied his debt
It grew louder than his promise to serve the savior that he'd met
Louder than the memory of chains around his neck
And he heard the beat so clearly that he swore he heard it speak
Offering the world and all its treasures at his feet
Ten years you've had to grow, it said, and yet you're still so weak
Return to me, my servant and I'll give you what you seek

How can it be he cried to God, was this your design
Can no one hear this wretched sound does it taint only my mind
How is it my dead master's heart beats more strongly than mine
Then he heard the God he cried to offer these words in reply

That seed I planted in your heart with much expectancy
That you'd water it, and nurture it, so it'd grow into a tree
That it'd remind you of when you were enslaved, and then set free
But it seems like you've remembered that, and yet forgotten me
But I've loved you e'er the start, and I'll love you past the end
The shamed regret that plagues your mind I never did intend
I sent my son to bear it all, your shame, your guilt, your debt
And I've given you the power to quell the heartbeat in your head

And as he heard those words, he felt the dead heart's strength subside
Its weakened rhythmic tick merely a war drum's warning cry
A call to arms to fight against the old man he watched die
And consecrate his life to God, who for him was crucified
He looked in words and asked: oh heart, what tale will you now tell
A soul to sell, a sin-torn shell, a slave to death and hell
Or will you speak of God's own love eternally indwelt
And one day stand before his throne and hear him say
My child, you have done well