When the Lanterns Wake

[Intro | tolling bell | dark guitar pulse | autumn wind | brief]

[Verse 1 | Male Vocal | deep baritone | restrained gothic storyteller]

The daylight dies behind the steeple
Autumn settles on the town
Paper ghosts begin to tremble
As the evening closes down

Every candle lights without us
Every carved-out face now grins
Then the church bell strikes the hour
And the waking night begins

[Pre-Chorus | Male Vocal | tension rising | Female Vocal distant harmony]

Lock your windows
Leave your candles burning bright
Something old has crossed the threshold
With the falling of the night

[Chorus | Male and Female Vocals | powerful duet | catchy | ominous]

When the lanterns wake
And the shadows take the street
Every door becomes a doorway
Every stranger comes to meet

When the lanterns wake
Hear the whole dead city sing
October has remembered us
And Halloween begins

[Verse 2 | Female Vocal | smoky mezzo-soprano | mysterious | building]

The scarecrows turn to face the roadway
Silver mist climbs from the ground
Porch-swing chains begin to tremble
Though there’s not a soul around

Painted witches leave the windows
Skeletons step down from trees
Every graveyard gate swings open
When October finds the key

[Pre-Chorus | Female Vocal leading | Male Vocal joins | rising intensity]

Leave your heartbeat
With the daylight at the door
Tonight the things we only dreamed of
Will be dreams no more

[Both Vocals | building]

Raise the lantern
Let its fire touch the sky
The town has waited all year long
To finally come alive

[Chorus | Male and Female Vocals | full duet | heavier guitars]

When the lanterns wake
And the shadows take the street
Every door becomes a doorway
Every stranger comes to meet

When the lanterns wake
Hear the whole dead city sing
October has remembered us
And Halloween begins

[Instrumental Break | short gothic guitar riff | cathedral organ | floor toms]

[Bridge | Male and Female Vocals | theatrical call and response]

[Male Vocal | deep baritone]

Who wakes the candles?

[Female Vocal | smoky and commanding]

The hands beneath the stone

[Male Vocal]

Who calls the shadows?

[Female Vocal]

The ones who walk alone

[Male Vocal]

Who opens every doorway?

[Female Vocal]

The hour after ten

[Both Vocals | rising power]

When the lanterns wake tonight
We all come home again

[Breakdown | Male and Female Vocals | rhythmic chant | heavy floor toms]

Light the windows
Ring the bell
Wake the stories no one tells

Raise the lanterns
Let them burn
Tonight the vanished all return

[Final Chorus | Male and Female Vocals | full power | layered harmonies]

When the lanterns wake
And the shadows take the street
Every door becomes a doorway
Every stranger comes to meet

When the lanterns wake
Hear the whole dead city sing
October has remembered us
And Halloween begins

When the lanterns wake
Let the fire lead us in
Raise your voice and join the night
We all come home again

[Outro | quiet male and female duet | distant bells | fading flames]

[Male Vocal | deep and restrained]

Leave the daylight at the door

[Female Vocal | smoky and haunting]

You won’t need it anymore

[Both Vocals | whispered]

Come inside
The night has only just begun