When the War Drums Go Quiet

[Verse 1]
Ale runs thin
Fire burns low
Hear that?
Exactly
Nothing below
Cards stay cold
Steel stays sheathed
But every brave man
Holds his breath to breathe
[Chorus]
When the war drums go quiet
That’s when you’re gonna die
Silence cuts the deepest
Colder than a battle cry
If you hear their boots
Their breath
You can raise your blade and try
But fear walks in on padded feet
When the war drums go quiet
[Verse 2]
Old one-eyed captain
Stares into the foam
Says
“It’s not the clash that kills you
It’s the calm before they’re shown”
When the wind stops talking
And the wolves don’t howl
That’s not peace
My friend
That’s a patient prowl
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
If you hear them curse your name
Good
They bleed the same
If you feel the ground start to shake
Stand
Let the rafters quake
But when the trees hold their breath
And even cowards stand still
That’s the night they mark your door
That’s the hand that means to kill
[Chorus]

Smoky dark-fantasy tavern ballad, low male vocals over minor-key lute and bowed viola; verses stay close and hushed with clinking tankards and creaking wood ambience, then the chorus opens into a grim singalong with stomps, gang shouts, and a booming floor tom. Final pass adds raspier backing vocals and a fiddle countermelody for a rowdy, ominous climax.