[Intro]
Black cloth over golden stone
Iron boots on roads of bone
Hear the drums and hide the flame
The false king marches in our name

[Verse]
I saw them ride at morning’s edge
With ravens on their shields
They took the grain from hungry hands
And burned the autumn fields
The children learned to lower eyes
The bells forgot to ring
And every road was painted black
For the man they called the king

[Pre-Chorus]
But banners made of fear and thread
Can tear beneath the sky
A lie may wear a crown of lead
But truth will learn to fly

[Chorus]
Tear down the false king’s banner
Let it fall into the dust
Raise up the songs they buried
Raise up the names they crushed
Tear down the false king’s banner
Let the tyrant hear us sing
A crown of lies will splinter
When the people crown the spring

[Verse]
His heralds spoke of peace and law
With daggers in their teeth
They praised the throne in polished halls
While widows starved beneath
I played no song beside their gates
I gave them not one chord
For music kneels to no command
And truth serves no false lord

[Pre-Chorus]
The soldiers heard my silent scorn
The captain drew his blade
But in the crowd a voice was born
And no one was afraid

[Chorus]
Tear down the false king’s banner
Let it fall into the dust
Raise up the songs they buried
Raise up the names they crushed
Tear down the false king’s banner
Let the tyrant hear us sing
A crown of lies will splinter
When the people crown the spring

[Interlude]
Black banner, black banner
Burn before the dawn
Black banner, black banner
Your borrowed day is gone

[Solo]
Steel strings race like arrows
Drums ignite the plain
Choirs climb like thunder
Over chains and rain

[Bridge]
I was no knight in armor bright
No breaker of the line
But when I sang the oldest fight
Their fear no longer shined
A thousand mouths had held one breath
A thousand hearts beat slow
Then one by one they found the song
The tyrant feared to know

[Breakdown]
No more silence
No more shame
No more kneeling
To his name

[Build-up]
Sing it higher
Strike it harder
Let the black cloth burn
Sing it higher
Strike it harder
Let the kingdom turn

[Chorus]
Tear down the false king’s banner
Let it fall into the dust
Raise up the songs they buried
Raise up the names they crushed
Tear down the false king’s banner
Let the tyrant hear us sing
A crown of lies will splinter
When the people crown the spring

[Chorus]
Tear down the false king’s banner
Let the hidden fires rise
Raise up the oath of Arvandor
Across the bleeding skies
Tear down the false king’s banner
Let the bells begin to ring
A crown of lies will splinter
When the people crown the spring

[Outro]
Black cloth over golden stone
Burns where rebel winds are blown
Hear the drums and feed the flame
The false king trembles at our name
