[Verse 1]
You walked in shining
Cracked old armor
Smiled like you'd already won
"Come on
Elf
The road gets longer"
You said the world was meant for fun
I called your plans impatient
You called my logic cold
Snow on rooftops
Cheap warm taverns
You swore we'd live to grow old
[Chorus]
Himmel
I was late to feel it
Stone by stone
You changed my sky
I counted years
You counted people
You burned out fast while I stayed dry
Now I'm standing in your statue's shadow
Asking why I took so long
Frozen petals in my fingers
And your name inside my song
[Verse 2]
You'd pose for kids in muddy alleys
Promise they'd see peace someday
I rolled my eyes at every flourish
You laughed and dragged me anyway
You aged in every quiet sunrise
Lines that I refused to see
Blink once
Suddenly you're coughing
Time ran out in front of me
[Chorus]
Himmel
I was late to feel it
Stone by stone
You changed my sky
I counted years
You counted people
You burned out fast while I stayed dry
Now I'm standing in your statue's shadow
Asking why I took so long
Frozen petals in my fingers
And your name inside my song
[Bridge]
I walk the road you traced in rumors
Every village
Every grave
Learning how your simple kindness
Turned to legends you once waved
If I'd known how brief your heartbeat
How your hair would fade to gray
Would I still have called you foolish
Or begged the world to let you stay? (hey!)
[Chorus]
Himmel
I was late to feel it
Stone by stone
You changed my sky
I counted years
You counted people
You burned out fast while I stayed dry
Now I'm kneeling by your weathered statue
Crying where the flowers fall
Frozen petals
Burning memories
And your name out-screamed by all
[Outro]
One more quest in quiet twilight
One more town that speaks your praise
I will carry what you left me
Through a thousand
Thousand days