[Intro — castle, stillness, Pandora watching from the fracture] She is asking them to go The Red Warrior is almost here And she is asking them to go
[Verse 1] She spreads her hands She says: you understand what is coming She says: I am not asking you to abandon me I am telling you there is a difference between staying and being consumed
She says the south is burning already She says the one in red has the Seven behind her and the church behind the Seven and three hundred years of a lie behind the church
She says: you cannot hold this None of you can hold this She says: I am telling you to go while the road is still open
[Pre-Chorus] She knows what she is walking into She has known since the winter She has not slept well since she understood
And the only thing she wants the only thing she is still asking for is for them to be somewhere she cannot watch them fall
[Chorus] Martyrs of the South She told them go and they heard nothing Martyrs of the South Every one of them chose a different kind of running Not away Not away They ran toward her and planted their feet and looked her in the eye and said no
Martyrs of the South The south remembers every one of them
[Verse 2] The raven says: with respect, and I mean that sincerely, this is the worst plan you have ever had and you have had some very bad plans and I am staying
The formal woman crosses to the table sets both hands flat says: I have considered the variables I have run the model several times The model says stay I trust the model I am staying
The wolf does not respond The wolf has not moved from the door The wolf will not be moving from the door
And then
The priest
[Pre-Chorus 2] She looks at him last Because she already knows what the others will say
She looks at him last Because she is not sure she can hear him say no
[Bridge — the last words] He stands
He crosses the room
He takes both of her hands in his
He says:
I have tried to save you before In ways you did not ask for In rooms you did not want me in At moments you told me to go
I always heard you
And I always stayed
This is not new
This is just the same choice
I have been making
since the first time
you told me to leave
He sets her hands down
He goes back to his corner
He sits
And he never says another word
Not that day Not after Not ever
[Chorus] Martyrs of the South She told them go and they heard nothing Martyrs of the South Every one of them chose a different kind of running Not away Not away They ran toward her and planted their feet and looked her in the eye and said no
Martyrs of the South The south remembers every one of them
[Final Chorus — Pandora’s voice, from the fracture] Martyrs of the South I am watching from the fracture Martyrs of the South I know who they become I know where they go from here I know what they carry into every century after this one
She told them go
And I know that no was the first word of everything they gave me
[Outro — the priest’s corner, the silence that never ends] He never said another word
Not that day Not the day after Not when the Red Warrior came Not when the castle fell Not in any room after that Not in any century
He had said everything
And the staying was the rest of it