[Intro]
Burning sun on broken stone
Salt and blood in every road
Iron wheels and armored hosts
Marching toward the western coast
[Verse 1]
Tyrian dye on the harbor wind
Purple sails where the waves roll in
Traders counting copper
Gold
Priests read fire in the coals
From the sand rose a city’s name
Iron teeth
Lion-heart
Hunger and flame
Ships like arrows split the foam
Calling this blasted shoreline home
[Chorus]
Sands of Carthage
Hear the war drums pound my chest
Sands of Carthage
Rise again
Refuse the rest
From the fire
From the foam
We carve our name in shattered stone
Sands of Carthage
I bleed for this broken throne
[Verse 2]
Children sworn to the ancient gods
Ash and incense
Crimson fog
Desert kings at the city gate
Iron tongues arguing fate
Across the sea a rival swore
“Burn the queen upon the shore”
So we crossed on a storm-black tide
War-elephants at our side (ride!)
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
[low vocal register]
Salt on my lips
Smoke in my lungs
I taste the fall of every tongue
Streets run red
But the steel stands tall
If they drown our walls in fire
They will still hear our call
[crescendo]
Carthage lives
In the roar
In the rage
In the clash of the shield
In the clatter of chains
As their banners rise
And our towers fall
Our ghosts scream war
From the dust of the walls
[guitar solo]
[Chorus]