Means To The End

Title: Means To The End Artist: Black Thread Union [Intro] [Verse 1] I kept a white-knuckled hand on every single lever I kept a fractured tooth inside the security lock I kept the forced internal silence under high pressure I kept the accumulating damage running on the clock I wore the transactional face that bought me temporary shelter I constructed a permanent home out of self-defense I manufactured an entire language out of a fracture Then confidently called the entire sentence common sense [Pre-Chorus] Count the structural tools Audit the final cost Itemize the actual names That I willingly lost [Chorus] A means to the end Both hands entirely full of debt I paid the invoice out in pieces That are still costing me yet A means to the end I successfully crossed the white line But the thing that made it through to the other side Was not entirely mine [Verse 2] I taught the cold room how to maintain its distance I taught the circulating blood how to keep the time I taught the protective cage to call itself safer Then slowly realized the cage had completely learned my mind Every single act of mercy carried a strict metric Every sudden wound immediately became a plan Every single exit route asked a terrifying question That I simply could not answer as a man [Pre-Chorus] Count the structural tools Audit the final cost Itemize the actual names That I willingly lost [Chorus] A means to the end Both hands entirely full of debt I paid the invoice out in pieces That are still costing me yet A means to the end I successfully crossed the white line But the thing that made it through to the other side Was not entirely mine [Bridge] The force was just a means The silence was just a means The mask was just a means The distance was just a means The loop was just a means The joke was just a means The cage was just a means The shape was just a means But the end It never stopped moving And the debt It kept actively breathing And the original self I was trying to save Kept mutating Its entire meaning [Build] Mutating its entire meaning Mutating its entire meaning It kept changing the meaning [Riff Break] [Final Chorus] A means to the end Both hands entirely full of debt I paid the invoice out in pieces That are still costing me yet A means to the end I successfully crossed the white line But the thing that made it through to the other side Was not entirely mine A means to the end No clean revisionist return I successfully kept the survival fire alive But I am what burned [Outro] I made it through the wreckage But not all of me was invited inside I made it through the wreckage But something else arrived