Track 6 of the album Every Glass Held Up · 2018
One Breath Before the Curtain Rises
“The breath in the wings before the curtain rises. The harp counts in the heartbeat.”
operatic pop · operatic pop · theatrical pop · 4:58
Lyrics
I'm standing in the wings tonight My heart is beating double time The audience is murmuring And I can feel the rhythm climb My hands are cold, my knees are weak But something in me wants to leap One minute left, one minute more To choose to walk through that door Count the heartbeats, count them slow Feel the floorboards underneath Whatever happens, I will go One breath before the curtain rises One breath before I fly Every doubt can wait behind me I will reach the sky One breath before the curtain rises Let the music take me in I have waited all my lifetime Now is when I begin The stagehand gives a little nod The conductor lifts his hand I think of every empty room Where I practised, where I stand The fear is only hunger, dressed In nervous silk, in nervous vest And I will turn it into song And let it carry me along Count the heartbeats, count them slow Feel the floorboards underneath Whatever happens, I will go One breath before the curtain rises One breath before I fly Every doubt can wait behind me I will reach the sky One breath before the curtain rises Let the music take me in I have waited all my lifetime Now is when I begin Sixty beats of silence And then the world will hear Sixty beats of courage And the future's very near Whisper to the shadows I am ready, I am here One breath before the curtain rises One breath before I fly Every doubt can wait behind me I will reach the sky One breath before the curtain rises Let the music take me in I have waited all my lifetime Now is when I begin The curtain rises And I begin