Title: Zenobia [Intro] [Ancient Syrian Folk Instrumental] [Oud leads] [Buzuq answers] [Subtle Ney] [Slow build] [Verse 1] The keeper counts the grain at sunrise Efqa's channel runs too low Clear the silt before the midday Water must not cease to flow Wax still soft beneath my signet Double every southern guard Seal the toll for eastern caravans Mark each manifest received [Pre-Chorus] Word arrives from western riders Steel is closer every day Some bring terms beneath Rome's banner Some ask what we're willing to trade [Chorus] Count the grain. Keep the water. Guard the roads that built these walls. Sign the treaties. Seal the ledgers. Every measure has been weighed. If their peace demands my city Piece by piece on borrowed terms, Then the seal beneath my hand Has only one reply. [Instrumental] [Buzuq Solo] [Oud Harmony] [Ney Responses] [Verse 2] Morning offerings reach great Bel Accounts are settled shrine by shrine Incense, silk and northern horses Cross the columns right on time Guide my son's hand through the signet Teach him when a seal must wait Not a child who watches history But the heir who learns its weight [Bridge] [Music drops] [Low Oud] [Soft Rababa enters] Bring the letters. Bring the ledgers. Bring the maps once more. Read each treaty. Count each storehouse. Nothing leaves unseen. ... Seal the answer. [Guitar Solo] [Emotional Buzuq] [Ney underneath] [Final Chorus] Count the grain. Keep the water. Guard the roads until they close. Lock the ledgers. Mark the storehouses. Every task already known. I was never crowned by gold. Merchants trusted what I signed. Let tomorrow choose its empire. I have already chosen mine. [Outro] [Oud and Ney] [Fade]
