[Intro]
Before the first fire learned its name
One eye watched the empty plain
[Verse 1]
I carved my oath in an ashwood spear
And fed it years no man could hear
At Mimir’s well I paid the price
For one cold draught of buried advice
I hung where roots drink from the dead
Nine long nights with a wound that bled
The runes came burning, one by one
A broken king beneath the sun
[Chorus]
Call me All-Father, but I stand alone
With every lost child carved into stone
I carry the winter, I carry the flame
I answer the silence that swallows a name
When the last gate opens and the ravens fly
I will meet the wolf beneath a reddening sky
[Verse 2]
Two black wings return at dawn
With news of fields where friends are gone
I share my bread with the road-worn few
And keep one seat for the brave and true
The hall is loud with the fallen’s cheer
But I count the footsteps I cannot hear
For wisdom is a cup that stains
And victory walks with a chain
[Chorus]
Call me All-Father, but I stand alone
With every lost child carved into stone
I carry the winter, I carry the flame
I answer the silence that swallows a name
When the last gate opens and the ravens fly
I will meet the wolf beneath a reddening sky
[Bridge]
No crown can bargain with the final breath
No blade can frighten the mouth of death
Still raise your horn, still speak your vow
The hour is coming; it is coming now
[Final Chorus]
Call me All-Father, hear the thunder roll
I guarded the gates, but I could not hold the whole
I carried the winter, I carried the flame
I answered the silence that swallowed each name
When the last gate opens and the ravens fly
I will face the dark with my kin by my side
[Outro]
Before the first fire fades from the plain
I’ll speak your names through the ash and rain