Shadows Over Shām | 01

[Verse 1: Sparse instrumentation (duduk + cello + frame drum). Focus on raw, intimate grief.] In a village drowned in twilight’s veil, A child of Alaw wails a mother’s final tale. Her arms, once warm, now cold as stone, A harvest of sorrow in a land overthrown. The Ottoman shadow claws the wall— A rabid breath, a tyrant’s call. [Verse 2: Sparse instrumentation (duduk + cello + frame drum). Focus on raw, intimate grief.] In Shām’s heart, a cross burns bright, A martyr’s flesh devoured by night. Flames lick the sky, the faithful scream, While mad dogs feast on shattered dreams. Their laughter rasps through smoke and ash, A hymn to blood, a throne of trash. [Chorus: Choir swells, ney shrieks, and contrabass drones elevate the lament to a communal cry.] Where are the castles, proud and tall? Where are the swords that guarded all? What stole Damascus’ moonlit song? Why do the hyenas prowl so long? O Shām, your children weep in vain, Chained by fools who worship pain. [Verse 3] The ruins breathe with phantom cries, A sea of bones beneath cursed skies. Hyenas dance on Zion’s slope, Gnawing hope, devouring hope. The scent of death, their twisted crown— A kingdom built to tear you down. [Bridge: Dissonant strings, chaotic percussion, and synth noise mirror the “mad dogs swarm.”] What fools conspire with the storm, To leash the stones, let monsters swarm? The mad dogs bark, the earth turns black— History bleeds, but never cracks. [Outro: Duduk and tanbur fade into silence, leaving only a synth wind to symbolize unanswered questions.] What stole Damascus’ moonlit song? Why do the hyenas prowl so long? O Shām, your children weep in vain, Chained by fools who worship pain.