Verse 1)
The beer wore a heavy mask, a jagged, shifting face
It turned a house into a cage, a dark and lawless place
The man who should have been our shield was the only one we feared
As every ounce of kindness in the can just disappeared
(Pre-Chorus)
But rarely through the bitter fog, a blue moon would arise
And we’d see a different kind of light behind his tired eyes
No drink today, just magic tricks, a circus in the hall
Laughter drowned the devil out, and we felt ten feet tall
(Chorus)
Oh, I’m haunted by the father that he couldn't stay
And the sister who kept running ‘til the nightmare faded away
Yeah, the alcohol was poison ink, rewriting who he was
Doing evil, calling it “fun,” without a care or cause
(Verse 2)
Then came the "games," the twisted tests, the army in the dark
Where evil wore a crooked grin and left a permanent mark
A shotgun held by shaking hands, a sister aimed at sister
The devil whispered in his ear, a cruel and cold assister
(Bridge)
“It’s just a game,” he’d tell us as he slid the shells inside
Mapping out a battlefield where we had nowhere left to hide
He chose his favorite for the lead to pull the heavy steel
A nightmare made of wood and lead that felt too sharp and real
(Guitar Solo / Instrumental Break)
(Verse 3)
But Big Sister knew the distance, she knew the spray of lead
She knew the couch was paper-thin and soon we’d all be dead
With a heart made out of lightning, she chose to break the chain
To save us from the madness and the wreckage of his brain
(Outro)
She grabbed the gun, she grabbed our hands, and out the door we flew
Running through the evening mist, away from all we knew
I’ll never know why spirits turn a person’s soul so black
Or why the man from circus days could never find his way back
(Fade out)
The man from circus days...
He never found his way back.
