Sixteen years old, only just found out today
Nowhere to go, but she's leaving anyway
The taxi waits outside as she turns the key
Leaves a note behind that he'll never read
And as the rain pours down, the meter starts to read
She looks back one last time in tears from the backseat

House on the hill, a fortress on solid ground
Is now shuttered and still, a ghost of its former self
Kneel at the alter this pantheon covered in dust, sing Hallelujah

Eighteen years old, enlisted and boarding a plane
He bought what they sold, just like a moth to the flame
He's scared and all alone in a distant place
Don't want to let it show, but the fear's on his face
Got a girl back home that he'll see next May
And what he doesn't know is there's one on the way

House on the hill, a fortress on solid ground
Is now shuttered and still, a ghost of its former self
Kneel at the alter this pantheon covered in dust, sing Hallelujah

And so she wakes and breaks inside her shell
He wrote a note that got delivered to her old address
She's not coming back, he's not coming back

House on the hill, fortress on hollow ground
Standing here still, make this a solemn vow
Here at the alter this pantheon's resurrected, sing Hallelujah

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