There's a quiet whisper of its ancient name
But it's a word that no one ever dared to speak
It builds a kingdom standing on our collective shame
And lays its heavy yoke upon the frightened meek

We search through every dusty page of history's tome
Trying to find the very first line where it began
But it's just a phantom standing on a stage for all to see
The terrible last act of a cruel and empty plan

This is the history of shadows, built upon only lies
Ruled by a brutal, empty, hollow king
We feel the suffocating terror that it always brings
It's the unending pain of a non-existent thing

It builds its impossibly high and looming walls
On a foundation made of shifting, phantom ground
It knows exactly how to make the smallest children cry
But it’s the kind of weeping that will never make a sound

It possesses no true heart that’s capable of feeling
It has no history, no origin, no storied past
But every single one of its threats feels chillingly real
And all its darkest promises are truly built to last

This is the history of shadows, built upon only lies
Ruled by a brutal, empty, hollow king
We feel the suffocating terror that it always brings
It's the unending pain of a non-existent thing

It grows much stronger as it feeds upon our deepest fears
It drinks the very doubt we spill upon the floor
It has a way of making all our bright hopes disappear
And we are all trapped behind its cold, imaginary door

This is the history of shadows, built upon only lies
Ruled by a brutal, empty, hollow king
We feel the suffocating terror that it always brings
It's the unending pain of a non-existent thing

In truth, it never, ever really was
It’s the impossible nightmare that just cannot be
And yet it haunts the corridors inside of all of us
Stretching its nothingness into eternity