The Portrait

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Portrait Lyrics written by: David Wolfe [Intro] "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." [Verse I] Dust on the canvas where the old frame hangs, A face in the corner still wearing my name. Eyes like a mirror that don’t seem alive, Frozen in paint while the person inside… Faded away somewhere deep in the black, A shadow that drowned and never came back. The smile is familiar—the feeling is not, Like staring at someone my memory forgot. And everyone speaks as if I’m still there… But something is wrong with the portrait’s stare. [Pre-Chorus I] I hear my voice… But it sounds distant now… Like echoes trapped Inside the walls somehow… [Chorus I] THE PORTRAIT SMILES… BUT I DON’T FEEL ALIVE… THE FACE REMAINS… WHILE SOMETHING ELSE SURVIVES… The colors are fading beneath hollow eyes, A body still breathing where the old spirit died. Everyone calls me the same as before— But I don’t know who they are speaking to anymore… [Verse II] The halls of the house feel unnaturally still, Pictures all watching me over the sill. Every reflection delays half a breath, Like mirrors themselves can recognize death. I stood in the glass and it stared back at me, Not with hatred or rage—but familiarity. As if all the grief and the ruin and pain Had hollowed a space for another thing’s face. The portrait grows clearer the weaker I get… And I’m not sure which one of us hasn’t left yet. [Pre-Chorus II] Every memory… Feels borrowed now… Every prayer… Just static somehow… [Chorus II] THE PORTRAIT SMILES… BUT I DON’T RECOGNIZE… THE EYES THAT STARE… FROM THE OTHER SIDE… The frame never shattered—the canvas remained, But something beneath it has quietly changed. Everyone speaks like I’m still who I was— While something behind me just listens in silence… [Breakdown] That’s not me… That’s not me… That’s not me inside the frame… Why does it smile… When I feel nothing…? Why do the eyes Follow me in the dark…? I buried myself Somewhere beneath the water… And something else Wore my face back home. [Breakdown II] I don’t remember… When the change began… Maybe the portrait Was always empty… Maybe the voice Inside my head… Stopped being mine Long before the abyss… Maybe there never was Anything left to save… [Pre-Chorus III] Everyone sees me… But nobody knows… The person they loved… Is no longer home… [Final Chorus] THE PORTRAIT SMILES… AND EVERYONE BELIEVES… THE FACE REMAINS… WHILE SOMETHING WATCHES THROUGH ME… The paint never cracked but the soul disappeared, A ghost in the shape of the man once here. No heaven above me, no self left below— Just something wearing the skin that I know… THE PORTRAIT SMILES… BUT IT ISN’T ME… [Outro] The frame still hangs… The eyes still stare… And somewhere beneath The oil and despair… A name dissolves Too faint to save… While something else Smiles from the frame… -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New Album "Truth & Illusion" OUT NOW!! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------