1998 Dance of Evermore

"The Dance of Evermore" is the second chapter in my opera. The tale becomes a bit more cohesive here.

War Skin
Steel & Stone
The Dance of Evermore
Hero's Demise
Cherub Song
Silent Epitaph
The Wishing Stone
Ride of the King
Celtic Warrior Pt 1
Quid Pro Quo
Celtic Warrior Pt 2
Sorrow & Song
Celtic Warrior Pt 3
Love & War

"War Skin"

I come from hate, I deal in pain
My robe steel plate, my blade shall reign
I smile & nod, you turn your head
I shed my grin and don my war skin

I'll rend your flesh & crush your bones
All God's creation lies beneath my black steed throne
My minions destroy your infantry, wherever they may roam
Carnage fills the heart with glee when a warrior's hate is home

My forces wedge between your lines
Your priest is dead, victim of my war crimes
You pray to God, he hears no plea
I drive your cavalry back into the blood-washed sea

You hope I'll die, and you'll be free
You hear my war cry, and know I'll take you with me
I torch your fleet, I burn your home
Vengeance is sweet when a warrior's soul is stone

I cannot lose, my god is Steel
Even if you take my head, my warriors' wrath you'll feel
My tread is thunder, my wake is death
My army surrounds your keep, and to its flag you'll kneel

My spearmen slay your archers, my archers kill your wizard
From the sky comes a rain of death like fireballs in a blizzard
I call your name, you turn to flee
Somehow you find a way to get away from me

I ride you down and take your head
While your blood's still warm I take your wife into my bed
I burn your town, my legions spread
And as long as I wear this crown the blood will run red

And so my hoarde moves on across the cursed plain
We take no captives, we leave no wounded
And when you see us come your hope will surely wane
As you prepare yourselves to join the honored dead

I bear your fate, I burn your hide
I love your hate, I gut your pride
I stop, you stare, I drag you in
Caught in my snare, you wear my war skin

"Steel & Stone"

I stand amid a thousand troops, awaiting winds of war
I watch the enemy's battle line waiting for the storm
And though I ride among the finest company
I turn within, where none can see, and know I ride alone

A statue on the mountainside, made of steel & stone
About my head the wind doth blow a tangled mane of snow
Locks that once were black as night, a paler shade did grow
Reflecting on this warrior's crown the darkness in his soul

Hear not what you want to hear, see not what you may
A thousand times delude yourself with dreams of bygone days
You keep one eye upon the goal and one eye on the path
You'll never find your destiny, living in the past

I see the road ahead of me, the way behind is dust
Broken bones of the innocent pave the way of lust
My eyes grow dim, my hate recedes
This war I wage is not with men, but rages within me

In huts aflame lie children, sleeping in their beds
Their fathers' dying battle cries ringing in their heads
Their hopes to one day have a home and heal their war-torn land
In youthful pride and arrogance, were taken by my hand

I never shall repent for what I cannot change
But no more, Pain and Ignorance, shall you be my chains
This helm of gems and studded gold weighs heavy on my head
Cords of hell-wrought guilt and shame wear heavy on my heart

I'll not lay down my arms, I'll not give up the fight
Somehow I must rise again, defender of the light
I cast aside this diadem and heft my aged sword
Bow my head and say a prayer to my sovereign lord

Hear not what you want to hear, see not what you may
A thousand times delude yourself with dreams of bygone days
You keep one eye upon the goal and one eye on the path
You'll never find your destiny, living in the past

"Hero's Demise"

One last try, one final charge
With sword held high, and riding hard
He plunged himself into the fray
On every side the battle raged
The seething mass of steel & bone
Left no trace but blood & stone

"Silent Epitaph"

The skies are cloudless and blue
As I mourn you
The greatest champion I've ever known
They've lain your blood-stained cloak on your stone

I've seen the wars you waged and you won
I've seen the warriors you had to overcome
I fought your battles, I stood by your side
We cut down our enemies, for wrong and for right

Now that you've taken your place in the sky
My soul feels so empty in the long and lonely night

No words of wisdom were said at your wake
No silent epitaph adorns your slate
Your memory lives on in the lives that you touched
All those who knew you will miss you very much

But none will feel the pain
Quite as deeply as I, my brother

None will feel the pain like your lost brother

"The Wishing Stone"

I would have been your knight in shining steel
But I cannot save you from your demon
You led me down the path to darkest Sheol
And though I changed my course, I stand here screaming

I see through death's cold eyes the life you've grown to hate
And in your misery the demon you embrace
You found your prince whose head a crown did not adorn
And lying in his arms you fear the sting of devil's horns

A moonlit stroll can always bring you close to me
But you beleive that only death can set you free

And in the dark of night you feel your blood run cold
You can't beleive your eyes or the sight that they behold
As my spirit rises from the depths of dark Sheol
To take you back with me into the cursed stone

And when we reach the depths of hell I'll set you free
This is what you wanted, the irony
Awake!

"Ride of the King"

They left me on the battlefield
Left me here to die
But I'll be no vultures' meal
I think it's time to ride

Ride, ride into the night
Hear my war cry split the sky
Ride, ride, brothers, we'll fight
For his glory, for our pride
Ride

Begged a horse from a farmer's field
Borrowed his best hides
Demon sons will taste my steel
When flesh and fate collide

Every township I invade
Everyone there knows my name
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Are ready to ride again

Down through the valleys and over the hills
Warriors hear the call
None can withstand the weight of our will
All of our enemies fall

Ride, ride into the night
Hear our war cry split the sky
Ride, ride for the new king
For his honor, for your pride

Ride, ride into the night
Hear our war cry split the sky
Ride, ride, brothers, we'll fight
for his honor, for our pride
Ride

"Quid Pro Quo"

Hell on my heels, heart filled with hate
You killed my brother, and now you must pay
He was dead long before his demise
You took his soul, his life, his honor, and now you must die!

I can't see the future, but I know the past
I hear the echoes of a devilish laugh
I can't know your mind, but I know your soul
I'm riding hard and fast to destroy your fiery home

Images fade of a life long gone
Remember the hopes and dreams you had when you were young
Midnight is passing, thirteen o'clock
My army crests the hill and now it's time to rock!

"Sorrow & Song"

Thundering down the mountainside
There was no place to run or hide
From cold blue steel or vengeful souls
But the heat of battle soon grew cold

Beneath the sky, azure and pearl
Wretched knowledge now unfurled
As they saw their enemy
Sick and weary, fraught with disease

The champions had come an hour late
Their battle won by sour fate
Bodies crumpled and curled in the snow
And off in the distance, an eerie green glow

The warriors did weep, and held out their hands
To aid the fallen of enemy lands
The king raised his pike, "Onward!" he cried
His troops marched on with past enemies beside

Together they searched for the cause of disaster
Through biting winds, they looked, and they found her
She lay there naked upon the ice
Clutched to her breast, an evil device

All were apalled to find the queen
Within her grasp, a globe of green
"I could not control this evil ball,
It has proven to be my downfall."

She reached out her arm, and begged the king,
"Make haste, and destroy this thing!"
And as she died, he took the sphere,
"To thine request, I shall adhere."

He buried the queen with sorrow & song
And knew that her memory would ever live on
He crushed the globe with steel & stone
And then he sought a queen of his own

"Love & War"

I cast my gaze across the open plain
Amid the smoking ruins, I fail to see the gain
Casualties of love's lost way
No soul has gone unscathed

War of angels, war of gods
Warriors & kings, and wizards' facades
Broken bodies, burnt and charred
The field is strewn with broken hearts

Spirits soar into the sky
Anger storms and turns the tide
When lovers war and brothers fight
Soldiers die, and mothers cry

There are no winners in war
There is no victory in pain
There is no justice from above
There is no malice in love

Shameful is the war we wage
The wage of war is death
Heed the price our children pay
With every passing breath

Holy love can never die
Though passion's heat may wane
Holy martyrs never cry
But sometimes go insane

How many must we drag along
Into our flaming hell
Singing our own evil song
Choral sublime or rebel yell

There are no winners in war
There is no victory in pain
When anger storms and turns the tide
Brothers fight and lovers die