[Verse 1]
He was born by the mill
With bread on the sill
A mother with songs
And a father with land
He wore no gold ring
When the banquet bells rang
He split the warm loaf
With a calloused hand
[Pre-Chorus]
He knew every name
At the gate by the wall
He gave from his table
And never stood tall
He laughed with the cooks
And the stable boys too
What he held in his palm
He handed right through
[Chorus]
Even kind souls bleed
Even kind souls fall
He had all the world
And gave it to all
Even kind souls bleed
Even kind souls fall
He died for his silver
At the castle wall
[Verse 2]
He had a bright wife
With a rose-colored shawl
Three children asleep
In a carved wooden bed
He had keys to the keep
And a seat by the fire
Yet he knelt in the mud
When the beggars were fed
His purse was a bell
In the market rain
The poor found a friend
In the shape of his name
[Pre-Chorus]
But envy has teeth
And a knife in its sleeve
It watches the soft
And it learns what to seize
The hungry don’t always
Ask first for the bread
Some pray for a hand
Some aim for the head
[Chorus]
Even kind souls bleed
Even kind souls fall
He had all the world
And gave it to all
Even kind souls bleed
Even kind souls fall
He died for his silver
At the castle wall
[Bridge]
They came in the dark
With their faces half-hidden
While his son in the loft
Held a dream and was sleeping
He met them unarmed
With his lamp at the door
He said, take the grain
But they wanted much more
[Final Chorus]
Even kind souls bleed
Even kind souls fall
He had all the world
And gave it to all
Even kind souls bleed
Even kind souls fall
A mercy can break
Against a hungry wall
Even kind souls bleed
Even kind souls fall
But the poor still sing
Of the boy who gave all