[Intro]
In a chapel under ivy
Where the saints had lost their eyes
An old man lit a silver flame
And told me not to lie

[Verse]
He said, Your songs are older
Than the roads beneath your feet
Your hands were made for more than coin
And fireside bread to eat
He opened up an oaken chest
Beneath the altar stone
And there it slept in velvet dust
A lute of ash and bone

[Pre-Chorus]
Its strings were pale as winter light
Its body scarred by war
And when I touched the silent wood
I heard a lion roar

[Chorus]
Lute of the Lost King
Cry through my hands tonight
Sing for the crown in exile
Sing for the buried light
Lute of the Lost King
Wake what the tyrant slew
If blood can sleep in melody
Then let the blood sing true

[Verse]
The keeper said, The fallen king
Played this before the flame
He sang to calm his frightened son
The night betrayal came
The child was taken through the crypt
While bells became a scream
And every loyal heart was sworn
To hide him in a dream

[Pre-Chorus]
My knees gave way beneath the dust
My breath forgot the air
The old man bowed and called me prince
And I could only stare

[Chorus]
Lute of the Lost King
Cry through my hands tonight
Sing for the crown in exile
Sing for the buried light
Lute of the Lost King
Wake what the tyrant slew
If blood can sleep in melody
Then let the blood sing true

[Instrumental]
Oh-oh-oh, the strings awaken
Oh-oh-oh, the oath unbroken
Oh-oh-oh, through ash and ring
Oh-oh-oh, Lute of the Lost King

[Bridge]
I am no prince of shining steel
No master of command
I know the road, the tavern smoke
The dust of every land
But when the ancient strings replied
My heart became a door
And all the songs I ever sang
Were mine and something more

[Breakdown]
Not by sword
Not by flame
Not by gold
Not by name
By song the dead shall rise

[Build-up]
Let the false king lock his tower
Let him count his stolen hour
A nameless bard with a royal chord
May be sharper than a lord

[Chorus]
Lute of the Lost King
Cry through my hands tonight
Sing for the crown in exile
Sing for the buried light
Lute of the Lost King
Wake what the tyrant slew
If blood can sleep in melody
Then let the blood sing true

[Chorus]
Lute of the Lost King
Ring till the mountains know
The heir was not extinguished
Beneath the long ago
Lute of the Lost King
Carry the morning through
If blood can sleep in melody
Then let the blood sing true

[Outro]
In a chapel under ivy
I left the life I knew
With a crown I did not ask for
And a song I had to prove