The Wanting Writes the Tale

[Intro]
I drew the ending in a picture book
Gold in the frame, clean as a promise
Now every page has a different look
And the ink runs when I touch it

[Verse 1]
When I was small, I picked a castle
From a cereal box and a bedroom wall
Put my name beside the window
Swore the little prince would never fall

Now I count the locks before I sleep
Keep the receipt for every dream
One hand on the wheel, one hand on the brake
Wondering how much a heart can take

[Pre-Chorus]
If I get the thing I prayed for
Will it ask me for another name?
If I build the room around me
Will I recognize the cage?

[Chorus]
Was it meant to end this way?
With a crown that feels like weight
I wanted more than I could hold
Now the wanting writes the tale

Happy ever after, fading at the edge
I can hear the warning in the words I never read
If I keep reaching past the line
Do I become the lesson in somebody else's life?

[Verse 2]
I bought the coat, I learned the handshake
Moved my mother to a quieter street
Kept the photograph above the mantle
Where the child I was still looks at me

He doesn't ask about the money
He just points toward the painted sun
I tell him, wait until tomorrow
Like tomorrow hasn't already come

[Pre-Chorus]
Every door I force wide open
Leaves a splinter in my hand
Every wish I call a blessing
Needs a bigger place to stand

[Chorus]
Was it meant to end this way?
With a crown that feels like weight
I wanted more than I could hold
Now the wanting writes the tale

Happy ever after, fading at the edge
I can hear the warning in the words I never read
If I keep reaching past the line
Do I become the lesson in somebody else's life?

[Bridge]
Maybe I was born believing
That the ending owed me peace
Maybe wanting is a river
That keeps moving when you drink

I could put the knife down slowly
I could leave one door unopened
Or I could feed the old ambition
Till it eats the name I've chosen

[Final Chorus]
Was it meant to end this way?
With a crown that feels like weight
I wanted more than I could hold
Now the wanting writes the tale

Happy ever after, fading at the edge
The child inside the picture doesn't know what happens next
If I keep reaching past the line
Do I become the caution buried in the rhyme?

[Outro]
Close the book and dim the room
Leave the final page undone
If the story still belongs to me
I don't have to become what I've run from