[Intro] By string and breath By road and rain By all who died And rise again [Verse] I knelt where no cathedral stood Beside a mountain stream The stars were cold as watching eyes The moon a broken gleam I laid my lute upon the stone And touched the hidden scar The blood of kings felt less than dust Beneath that field of stars [Pre-Chorus] No golden hall has made me whole No throne has made me brave But I can give my wandering soul To every heart we save [Chorus] This is the bard’s oath I will not bow I will not sell the song I carry now This is the bard’s oath By flame and sky I sing for the living and the ones who die No crown for glory No crown for pride Only the truth with the people at my side This is the bard’s oath My voice, my vow I will not bow [Verse] I swore no child would hide their tears When black flags filled the lane No mother’s grief would be dismissed As weather, dust, or rain If I must stand before the throne Then let the throne be small Beside the farmer’s hungry hands Beside the widow’s call [Pre-Chorus] The song is not a servant’s chain The song is not a toy It is the storm after the pain It is the right to joy [Chorus] This is the bard’s oath I will not bow I will not sell the song I carry now This is the bard’s oath By flame and sky I sing for the living and the ones who die No crown for glory No crown for pride Only the truth with the people at my side This is the bard’s oath My voice, my vow I will not bow [Interlude] Voice of the road Voice of the rain Voice of the lost Rise again [Solo] Slow guitars open into fire Strings ascend like prayer and pyre Drums march steady, hearts align The vow becomes the battle sign [Bridge] If fear should close around my throat If death should take my breath Let every hand that learned my song Sing louder after death For tyrants kill the singer first And think the tune is gone But music walks from mouth to mouth And travels with the dawn [Breakdown] My voice My vow No chains Not now [Build-up] By string and breath By road and rain By all who fell Rise again By string and breath By road and rain By all who fell Rise again [Chorus] This is the bard’s oath I will not bow I will not sell the song I carry now This is the bard’s oath By flame and sky I sing for the living and the ones who die No crown for glory No crown for pride Only the truth with the people at my side This is the bard’s oath My voice, my vow I will not bow [Chorus] This is the bard’s oath A fire in sound A promise planted in the wounded ground This is the bard’s oath A rising cry The song will live even if I die No crown for glory No crown for pride Only the truth with the people at my side This is the bard’s oath My voice, my vow I will not bow [Outro] By string and breath By road and rain The oath is sung The war begins