O Glorious Dead (Theoden's Goodbye)

[Verse I]
The fields lie quiet beneath the sky,
Hooves no longer drum the plain.
Our banners rest in the evening light,
Still warm with their breath and rain.
I hear you now in the turning grass,
In the gull’s far, lonely cry—
Not gone, my sons, not lost to dark,
You only ride ahead.

[Chorus]
O glorious dead, do not linger here,
Do not bow your heads in shame.
The road goes on beyond the hill,
Beyond the sword and flame.
I walk beside you, unseen, unbound,
To guide you safely home.
Do not mourn me, do not look back—
I ride where kings are known.
Rohan's sons will ride again,
Do not weep the glorious dead

[Verse II]
We stood as one when the world shook hard,
When hope was thin as thread.
You did not yield, you did not break,
You followed where I led.
Let the living sing of dawn anew,
Let the children learn your names.
Our grief is love that learned to stand
Inside the storm of days.

[Chorus]
O glorious dead, lift up your eyes,
The night has had its say.
Steel may sleep and flesh may fade,
But honor does not decay.
I am not lost to shadowed halls,
Nor bound to tomb or stone.
I ride before you, torch in hand,
To lead you safely home.
Rohan's sons will ride again,
Do not weep the glorious dead


[Bridge]
When horns are silent, hearts remember.
When fires dim, the stars remain.
No death can take your honor earned
On the green and battered plain.

[Final Chorus / Outro]
O glorious dead, rest easy now,
Your watch is finally done.
The world still turns because you stood
And would not flee nor run.
Do not miss me, do not weep—
I am no king alone.
I ride ahead, I keep the path,
Until all riders come home.
Rohan's sons will ride again,
Do not weep the glorious dead

Folk, harp, medieval, violin, cello, medieval folk, uplifting