[Verse 1] Before they lined the roads when I returned They’d lift their children up and call my name Now I see them scatter, see the torches turned The same hands that once held me pull away
I open my mouth — the words don’t carry weight I had a station once, I had their trust But the dead I couldn’t save are at the gate And all the light I carried turned to dust
[Pre-Chorus] (the questions, almost internal, barely sung) Do I fight? And if I fight — for what? Do I find the ones who might remain? Do I walk until the world runs out? Do I speak when no one speaks my name?
[Chorus — choir ghostly, buried low] I am Commander of One No standard left to raise, no rank to claim Commander of One Every road I walk, they fear the one who came Commander of One I used to bring them the sun Now I only bring the cold
[Verse 2] There was a girl who stood inside these halls Who heard the hymn and answered — I am here Who swore on every stone along these walls To be the shield between you and your fear
Now those same stones are watching, cold and still For the warmth I can no longer find inside I reach for it — I reach — but reach until The light I thought was steady starts to die
[Pre-Chorus 2] (quieter, a confession) Can I fight? The world is already ash Is there anyone left to find? Do I carry what I no longer have? Or admit what I have left behind?
[Chorus 2 — same, heavier] I am Commander of One No standard left to raise, no rank to claim Commander of One Every road I walk, they fear the one who came Commander of One I used to bring them the sun Now I only bring the cold
[Bridge — near silence, one cello, her voice alone] I feel it going That thing they named the light I reach inside for what I was And come back empty every time
They used to call me First Light Now even I have stopped believing it I am standing in the cold I made
(pause)
And I am all that’s left of me
[Final Chorus — choir returns, then drops] I am Commander of One No banner, no faithful, no ground left to claim Commander of One They scatter when they hear me coming, fear my name Commander of One
(choir cuts — just her)
And the Light of None
[Outro — silence, then a single bell toll][Bell] (nothing)