Liar's Song

Part 1

I don’t know how long the world has been the way it is

it was how my father lived, and just the same as his

still I like to think about a world where lies can hide

then at least the pain we feel could always stay inside

I told my first lie when I was only three years old

on a winter morning, mother asked if I was cold

that was when I felt a pain like fire on my face

I’ll always remember that’s how my first lie took place

Both my parents have more scars than most, but they don’t mind

still they live together, and their faces still look kind

almost all our neighbours lived alone, divorced, or sad

my parents chose a life of love and lies, it’s all they’ve had

I was told that I should never talk outside the house

when I played with friends we’d all quiet as a mouse

it was harder when I was much younger but I learned

Even when I lied by accident the lies still burned

Saying “Sorry” filled up half my face with scars at least

saying “it’s okay” was not okay, to say the least

No one said “I love you” anymore, it’s a taboo

no one wants to know the truth behind “I love you too”

That’s what made my parents so much stronger than the rest

even though they didn’t always pass the “love you” test

still they never gave up on eachother to this day

maybe I’ll find someone worth those scars and hear them say...

Part 2

Now I’m old enough to live alone, and so I do

it’s a simple life and work has been a blessing too

I’m a news reporter and I document my town

making observations and then writing them all down

There’s not many people who can travel like I do

no one walks outside who could be hiding safe from view

no one likes a liar full of scars that tell their tale

little scars for little lies and bigger scars to scale

Often I reported on the weather but at times

people came to tell me if they witnessed any crimes

criminals were quickly caught if I reported well

after all there was a single story they could tell

One day I was asked to go investigate a place

somebody’s old neighbour disappeared without a trace

he was said to be a “quite forgetful” older man

I expected he was lost, and so my search began

Walking through the woods I heard the chirping of bird

I wondered if an animal would know a lie it heard

when I found the place where I was told the man had been

soon I found the first dead body I had ever seen

I rushed over quickly but the man was clearly dead

just a single wound apparent on his aged head

I pulled out my phone and quickly told the police to come

that was when I heard a sound that made my body numb

Just behind me stood a man whose shirt was ripped away

panting and exhausted like someone who’d run away

what I saw when I looked at the man who couldn’t rest

was just one giant, bloody scar upon his heaving chest

“Who are you” I asked the man as blood ran down his frame

After all, omitting truth, was lying all the same

feeling quite content that I had trapped the man in time

I was shocked he only answered with another crime

“Where is this” he asked me, just ignoring my request

sure enough another scar appeared across his chest

“how are you attacking me” he asked and reeled in pain

“it’s because you lied, you fool” was all I could explain

Part 3

Soon the police arrived and took the murderer away

I gave my testimony but there wasn’t much to say

after that confusing meeting, I returned to work

“mum was right, I should’ve been a farmer or a clerk”

Days went by as normal and my life was still routine

quietly reporting on a small town’s every scene

then one day I heard a hurried knock upon my door

when I answered someone picked me right off of the floor

The police took me away and didn’t say a single word

they just told me I was needed, though it seemed absurd

soon I was inside a room and there, in chains, was him

though unlike when we first met, he’d scars on every limb

“Is it true he had one giant scar when you first met”

the police once more confirmed, but it’s a scene I won’t forget

“yes, it’s true, and it was fresh, i thought that he might die”

“just like that old man he killed, who must have heard that lie”

The words the policeman sent to me sent shivers down my spine

what lie in the world could cut so deep and long a line

“we want you to question him, since we’ve done all we can

never have we heard so many lies told by one man

None of us are suited to uncovering the truth

you’re a news reporter and a celebrated sleuth

you’re the only person who’d survive a talk with him

he can tell contagious lies to any on a whim”

Part 4

Somehow it had fallen unto me to get the truth

from a man who hadn’t even told a lie in youth

scared but curious I sat before the bleeding man

wondering, for starters, why he stayed instead of ran

“We already know you killed the man, so what’s to hide

don’t you know that you can’t lie to us now that you’ve tried”

he just looked across at me with bloodshot teary eyes

everything he said would overwhelm me with surprise

“This is not the world that I intended to create

please, tell me what year it is, and if it’s not too late”

I told him both the time and date and then he bowed his head

“that would mean it’s been too long, and everybody’s dead”

What he said was made more horrifying by the fact

not a wound appeared, so this was not an act

“tell me who you are and why you killed that poor old man

tell us what you know and we will help you if we can”

“You can’t help me anymore, that’s maybe for the best

this is all just one bad dream, or that old god’s cruel test”

as he spoke those last few words another scar appeared

just beneath his swollen eye where tears and blood were smeared

Part 5

“Fine, I get it, lying hurts, it’s hard to talk this way

how can you all live like this, what can you even say

I thought he’d attacked me when my chest began to bleed

I had no attention to kill anyone once freed”

Thinking of the crime that he’d committed he just wept

it took quite a while before the man’s composure could be kept

as he cried I thought to ask from where he might have come

“were you raised alone, do remember where you’re from”

“Nothing matters anymore, my home is nowhere now

I’ll just lie until I die, no matter why or how

I was just a fool to trust a nameless god back then

when my king betrayed me and he sacrificed my men

I was told that I’d be called a hero for my deeds

after I succeeded they would see to all our needs

so I found that ancient cave where long ago was sealed

a power like no other to which once the world had kneeled”

In between his words I kept a lookout for new cuts

but he just kept talking as he spilled his honest guts

even if a crazy person thought a lie were true

they would still be scarred for life no matter what they do

“After I brought power to my king he had me killed

then I learned that all along that was as he had willed

as my soul descended into hell I met that god

the very one I’d freed to give my king, that evil fraud

He asked me if I had a wish before he brought me back

saying he fix my world or give me what I lack

all that iI could think of then, it’s hard now to explain...

‘make the world a place where liars wear their lies in pain’”

Everything he said was true, and no one could deny

this is how the world had come to punish those who lie

all the police and secretaries watching on in awe

only had one question, not related to the law

“Such misunderstandings could be understood in time

though it won’t be easy to absolve you of your crime

what we want to know though, isn’t who or what you are

what’s the lie you told that left you with so great a scar”

Though my question rattled him, he felt compelled to speak

even though he wanted death he’d grow to tired and weak

fearing all the pain that would devour him if he lied

he was forced to speak the truth regardless how he cried

“When I first awoke that kind old man came to my aid

he helped me up and told me that I needn’t be afraid

I told him all about the god and all that I told you

though he looked as shocked as you, he knew that it was true

Then he asked me if the god had changed the world for free

or if my request had come with any sort of fee

I told him there wasn’t, and he shouldn’t be afraid

Not explaining what was in that contract which I made...

…

...I did ask the god if there would be some other cost

for his help in my revenge against the world I’d lost

he told me such revenge would surely take a heavy toll

anyone who’s lie he punished, forfeited their soul”

eric_river