[Intro - war drums, distant, building toward silence] I gave the order once before I understood what orders cost
[Verse 1 - commander’s voice, controlled] I had stood in worse places than this I had held the line when the line wanted to break But something moved through the valley that morning Something that didn’t come to negotiate — it came to take
I saw them forming at the ridge I counted what we had against what was coming down I made the calculation every commander makes Before the numbers stop being numbers and start being ground
[Pre-Chorus] So I raised my voice above the drums Above the fear, above the smoke, above the sound
[Chorus] RUN I said it once and then I said it louder RUN I threw my whole voice at the open sky RUN They turned and looked at me and then they faced it And I understood — they’d already decided where to die
[Verse 2 - quieter, horror settling] I watched the first one fall Then the second, then the third, then all the rest I watched the women stand where I had told them to flee I watched the children reach for hands that couldn’t protect
There is a silence that belongs to a field after A quiet that no living person should have to know I stood inside it I waited for my turn And nothing came The blade that should have found me Didn’t show
[Pre-Chorus 2] She moved through everything like weather Like a verdict that had already been designed
[Chorus 2] RUN I said it and they didn’t and they’re gone now RUN The last useful word I had in me RUN And she stood before me in the ruin And gave me the one thing I did not want — she set me free
[Bridge - barely holding] My people had the honor of a choice They chose to stand They fell for something real I am still standing here for nothing Not by my own hand
You spared me like a mercy Like you thought that you were kind But there is nothing merciful about leaving The only one behind
[Final Section - stripped, near spoken] This is the last order I will ever give — Do not spare me Do not spare me Do not spare me
[Outro - single voice, then silence] I am the only sound left in this field And I do not want to be here