Under the ruins of a walled city Crumbling towers in beams of yellow light No flags of truce, no cries of pity the siege guns had been pounding through the night
It took a day to build the city We walked through its streets in the afternoon As I returned across the fields I′d known I recognized the walls that I once made Had to stop in my tracks for fear Of walking on the mines I′d laid
And if I built this fortress around your heart Encircled you in trenches and barbed wire Then let me build a bridge, for I cannot fill the chasm And let me set the battlements on fire
Then I went off to fight some battle That I′d invented inside my head Away so long for years and years You probably thought or even wished that I was dead
While the armies are all sleeping Beneath that tattered flag we′d made I had to stop in my tracks for fear Of walking on the mines I′d laid
And if I built this fortress around your heart Encircled you in trenches and barbed wire Then let me build a bridge, for I cannot fill the chasm And let me set the battlements on fire
The prison has now become your home a sentence you seem prepared to pay It took a day to build the city We walked through its streets in the afternoon As I returned across the lands I′d known I recognized the fields where I once played I had to stop in my tracks for fear Of walking on the mines I′d laid
And if I built this fortress around your heart Encircled you in trenches and barbed wire Then let me build a bridge, for I cannot fill the chasm And let me set the battlements on fire
No one can hurt you now In this haven safe and sound No one can save you now From this grace you are drowning in Just hold your breath on your way down This fortress of tears I′ve built from my fears - for you This fortress won′t fall I′ve built it strong - for you No one can free you now From the chains around your heart Don′t be afraid now Just dive in this emptiness And hold your breath on your way down This fortress of tears I′ve built from my fears - for you This fortress won′t fall I′ve built it strong - for you No one can hurt you now In this haven safe and sound Just hold your breath on your way down This fortress of tears I′ve built from my fears - for you This fortress won′t fall I′ve built it strong - for you This fortress of tears I′ve built from my fears - for you (Believe me) This fortress won′t fall I′ve built it strong - for you