Once upon a time in a fairy tale
There lived a maiden as poor as the moon is pale
Porridge for her supper, apple blossoms in her hair
And none around for miles were half as fair as she
Of course, there was a king searching for a bride
He saw that maiden and called her to his side
Stripped her of her cotton shift gave her a silken gown
And everybody came from miles around to see
He wooed that maiden and took her for his wife
Saying with this golden ring I bond you to my life
The keys to my castle I will give to thee
But there's a promise you must keep
There's one key for the lofty halls where we will spend our days
One for the nursery where our children will be raised
One key opens the closet for your dresses and your shoes
But there is one key you must never use
She laughed and said, "My darling, though you be a king
You're still a man and you know not anything
There are some promises that one can never keep
To use the key, I 'll wait 'til you're asleep"
Did he not believe her? That we'll never know
Did he trust the Fates enough to simply let them flow
Whatever the reason, he handed here that key
And pulled up the royal covers and went to sleep
The maiden made her way to that forbidden room
If only she'd seen the expression on the face of the moon
Without hesitation and without remorse
She turned the key and opened up that door
The first thing she noticed was an awful sucking sound
The castle walls started coming down
Inside that room like some dark and dreadful dream
Was the most terrible emptiness that she had ever seen
The king awakened just in time to see
The castle walls tumbling into eternity
He cried, "We'll never be together, we'll always be apart
You've opened up the chamber of my heart!"
The truth will make you sorry, or the truth will make you see
The maiden walked along, poor again but free
What relief she felt when she recognized her doom
In that empty, empty room
copyright 2005, Krista Weaver
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Lyrics submitted by Krista Weaver.