I hope you'll still talk to me after I've explained it's a line from Sarah McLachlan's "Building a Mystery" . . .

You come out at night, that's when the energy comes
And the dark side's light, and the vampires roam
You strut your rasta wear and your suicide poem
And a cross from a faith that died before Jesus came
You're building a mystery

You live in a church where you sleep with voodoo dolls
And you won't give up the search for the ghosts in the hall
You wear sandals in the snow and a smile that won't wash away
Can you look out the window without your shadow getting in the way?

Oh, you're so beautiful, with an edge and a charm
And so careful when I'm in your arms

'Cause you're working, building a mystery
Holding on and holding in
Yeah, you're working, building a mystery
And choosing so carefully

You woke up screaming aloud a prayer from your secret god
And you feed off our fears and hold back your tears
You give us a tantrum and a know-it-all grin
Just when we need one, when the evening's thin

Oh, you're a beautiful, a beautiful fucked-up man
Setting up your razor-wire shrine

'Cause you're working, building a mystery
Holding on and holding in
Yeah, you're working, building a mystery
And choosing so carefully . . .

You're building a mystery

I first heard the song my senior year of high school, as performed by an all-female student a cappella group. Even so, it pretty much went straight into my box of archetypes, and that's always been one of my favorite lines.