[Verse 1 - quiet, almost alone] Horse is ready at the gate Letter in my hand, I’m about to go Then something on the ground catches the light A box — wrong, broken, scattered on the floor I should go I know I should go My feet won’t move
[Pre-chorus 1 - slow, deliberate] One page Then two Then my hands Won’t stop
[Chorus 1 - methodical, each name landing like a stone] The hand above the hand — I’d heard the name Those four who rode — I knew some faces The sins of capital — I’d fought beside them once The Commandment Keeper Who keeps them? Who keeps them?
[Verse 2] Page after page This was not a diary This was a map She made this for someone Someone who might follow The White Woman — what did she know?
[Pre-chorus 2 - the recognition building] I’d seen these names before In orders, in reports, in whispers behind closed doors I was always on the other side of that door I was never meant to read the list
[Chorus 2 - the list grows, dread building] The arched ones — I’d felt their shadow The ones below — I’d heard the ground shake The One — they always said The One The One — protect the One That was my mission That was my whole mission Protect — The One.
[Bridge - almost spoken over heavy guitar swell] I was their Shield That’s what they called me Not warrior. Not champion. Shield. Keep the One untouched The One above everything I spent years guarding something I was never allowed to name
And now I read the name In ink In a stranger’s hand
I was not the protector I was the weapon Pointed at everything else
[Final Chorus - cold, no hesitation] The hand above the hand — I understand it Those four who rode — already done The sins of capital — every face accounted for The commandment keeper — I will find them
The arched ones — I have questions The ones below — I heard the ground And at the top of every page Just a name
The One —
[Outro - whispered] What she left behind Something not meant for me to find But now I have it in mind
…I plan.