[Lyric] A House of Sorrow (Richard Orpheus Campbell)

[Verse 1: Victor]
Winters months imprison me
In self-conflicted torment
I was plagued by visions
That I long to forget

Dreams that once have been the fire
That warmed my heart and fuelled my soul
Became the hell in which I burned

Until on the first day of spring
My soul was lifted
By the words of my childhood love
Elizabeth’s letter invites my thought
To the family I left behind

[Chorus 1: Elizabeth]
My dearest Victor
I cannot describe how I felt
Hearing nothing from you and the faith you’ve been dealt
Seasons havе passed with no word of your health
Pleasе write one line, just one word would be a blessing
But truly I hope for you to come home
Seeing you would be all I could wish for
You are in my thoughts, always yours Elizabeth
[Chorus 2: Victor]
Dearest Elizabeth, what can I say
I’ve left you in darkness and been led astray
Immutable forces have captured my mind
But you have restored me to health in an instant
The very first coach will carry me home
I’ll tell you my story and pray you’ll forgive me
You are in my thoughts, always yours Victor

[Verse 2: Victor]
But my joy was short lived
As my journey drew me closer to home
I felt the spectres of my nightmares returning
And the last mornings’ post
Brought me tidings of a fatal tragedy
That had struck my home while I have been dreaming

[Chorus 3: Elizabeth]
My dearest Victor, it fills me with dread
To tell you that my younger brother is dead
He was found beaten and strangled last night
And Justine the maid has been charged with his murder
She gave no confession but in her possession
Was a locket your mother had given him
He lives on in our thought
Who could do such a thing
Poor defenceless William
[Verse 3: Victor]
I was paralyzed by fury and screamed to the sky
“What kind of monster could have murdered such a young child”
Then as if to answer my fears
I saw a figure in the mountains
The beast of my creation

That’s how I knew that Justine was not to blame
William was dead because of me

Desperation rushed through my veins
The creature I created
Was more of a monster than I feared
But I had no time, to chase the fiend
As Justine went on trial for its crimes that day

[Pre-Chorus: Victor]
A house of sorrow welcomed me home
I found my family united by grief

[Chorus: Victor, Elizabeth, both]
But the sight of my dearest Elizabeth soothes my pain
I embraced her and said I would not leave again
My dearest (Victor) Elizabeth how bittersweet our reunion
Now that our home is shrouded in darkness
But Justine is (seem so) innocent, she’s no more a killer than you or I
I know it for a fact, and we must prove it
It is the truth, if we can change her faith
Her faith rests in our hands, we must go at once
Once I’ve confessed only then, will my (Justine’s) conscience be cleared
[Break]

[Outro: Victor]
But at the trial I found myself
Unable to stand and speak
I knew that if I shared my story
I had been dismissed as a madman and taken away
And so, I sat in silence
And watched a childhood friend
Wrongfully condemned to death