A Rope of Years

power metal, epic heavy metal, heavy metal, hard rock

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V5.5

[Intro — low ominous drone, distant toms, D minor, 140 BPM]
[whispered male vocal, dry and close]
Behind every throne there's a colder shadow,
older than the crown, and patient as stone.

[Verse I — heavy marked riff enters, galloping drums, dramatic clean tenor, D minor, 140 BPM]
A good king ruled, with two sons at his side —
one born to the light, one lost in the shade.
The shadow in the robe had buried whole kingdoms,
and he hated the elder for the man he'd be made.
So he ground a dead dragon's heart down to powder
and salted the wine of a sleeping old king,
who woke to a fire that ate from the inside,
and was ash on the cold floor by the break of the day.

[Pre-Chorus — riff tightening, drums driving, building]
And behind the wall, through a dead beast's eyes —
two panes of glass in a dragon's skull —
the younger boy watched the poison poured,
and he froze, and he swallowed it whole.

[Chorus — anthemic, full band wide, soaring operatic power, D minor, 140 BPM]
THEY CROWNED A LIE AND THEY CAGED THE TRUE!
Hung the dead king's murder on his rightful heir!
Locked him high where the cold wind blew —
but the dark never reckoned what a patient man would build up there.
Build me a rope out of years, out of nothing,
and I'll climb down the night, and I'll answer the throne.

[Verse II — galloping rhythm, dual guitar harmonies, grim and steady]
Five winters of stone and a single high window,
a child's small loom and a thread every day —
from the cloth on each plate that they sent up the tower
he wove a long rope, and he hid it away.
No riot, no rage — just the patience of water,
just a knot and a knot and a knot in the dark.

[Contemplative Interlude — clean jazz-tinged electric piano, reverb surf guitar, dream pop atmosphere, sparse, tempo held at 140 BPM, half-time feel]
[softer clean vocal]
A candle, a window, the slow-turning loom;
he learned every star that crossed over the room.
Out there a friend was unearthing the truth —
in here he just spun, and he waited, and grew.

[Bridge — doom metal weight, half-time feel, tempo held at 140 BPM, riffs dragging monumental]
Then the storm took the sky and he tied off the line,
and he climbed from the window down into the rain,
hand over hand down the face of the tower —
the rope of a thousand still suppers, his only line home.

[Epic dual-guitar solo — instrumental: the long fall through the storm, the gathering of friends below, D minor, 140 BPM]

[Verse III — climactic intensity, full power]
He came through the gate as the great hall was burning,
and the broken young brother stood up from the throne,
and at last the boy spoke what the glass eyes had shown him —
raised a bow, drove an arrow through the sorcerer's eye.

[Final Chorus — maximum power, soaring triumphant, full band, D minor, 140 BPM]
NO CROWN OF A LIE OUTLASTS THE TRUE!
The shadow came apart like smoke on the wind!
The rightful dawn came pouring through —
and the locks of the kingdom all opened, and let him in!
Built him a crown out of years, out of nothing,
and he climbed up from the dark, and he answered the throne.

[Climactic Declaration — monumental half-time feel, tempo held at 140 BPM, vocal becoming legend]
But you don't kill a shadow — you scatter it thin,
and it gathers somewhere, and it learns to begin.
So the brother rode out with a torch and a vow:
"I will hunt down the smoke till it answers for all of it now."

[Outro — band falling to a single sustained chord, wind through stone, D minor, 140 BPM]
[whisper, as in the beginning]
Behind every throne there's a colder shadow...
and a patient man, climbing home.

3593/7500

[Intro — low ominous drone, distant toms, D minor, 140 BPM] [whispered male vocal, dry and close] Behind every throne there's a colder shadow, older than the crown, and patient as stone. [Verse I — heavy marked riff enters, galloping drums, dramatic clean tenor, D minor, 140 BPM] A good king ruled, with two sons at his side — one born to the light, one lost in the shade. The shadow in the robe had buried whole kingdoms, and he hated the elder for the man he'd be made. So he ground a dead dragon's heart down to powder and salted the wine of a sleeping old king, who woke to a fire that ate from the inside, and was ash on the cold floor by the break of the day. [Pre-Chorus — riff tightening, drums driving, building] And behind the wall, through a dead beast's eyes — two panes of glass in a dragon's skull — the younger boy watched the poison poured, and he froze, and he swallowed it whole. [Chorus — anthemic, full band wide, soaring operatic power, D minor, 140 BPM] THEY CROWNED A LIE AND THEY CAGED THE TRUE! Hung the dead king's murder on his rightful heir! Locked him high where the cold wind blew — but the dark never reckoned what a patient man would build up there. Build me a rope out of years, out of nothing, and I'll climb down the night, and I'll answer the throne. [Verse II — galloping rhythm, dual guitar harmonies, grim and steady] Five winters of stone and a single high window, a child's small loom and a thread every day — from the cloth on each plate that they sent up the tower he wove a long rope, and he hid it away. No riot, no rage — just the patience of water, just a knot and a knot and a knot in the dark. [Contemplative Interlude — clean jazz-tinged electric piano, reverb surf guitar, dream pop atmosphere, sparse, tempo held at 140 BPM, half-time feel] [softer clean vocal] A candle, a window, the slow-turning loom; he learned every star that crossed over the room. Out there a friend was unearthing the truth — in here he just spun, and he waited, and grew. [Bridge — doom metal weight, half-time feel, tempo held at 140 BPM, riffs dragging monumental] Then the storm took the sky and he tied off the line, and he climbed from the window down into the rain, hand over hand down the face of the tower — the rope of a thousand still suppers, his only line home. [Epic dual-guitar solo — instrumental: the long fall through the storm, the gathering of friends below, D minor, 140 BPM] [Verse III — climactic intensity, full power] He came through the gate as the great hall was burning, and the broken young brother stood up from the throne, and at last the boy spoke what the glass eyes had shown him — raised a bow, drove an arrow through the sorcerer's eye. [Final Chorus — maximum power, soaring triumphant, full band, D minor, 140 BPM] NO CROWN OF A LIE OUTLASTS THE TRUE! The shadow came apart like smoke on the wind! The rightful dawn came pouring through — and the locks of the kingdom all opened, and let him in! Built him a crown out of years, out of nothing, and he climbed up from the dark, and he answered the throne. [Climactic Declaration — monumental half-time feel, tempo held at 140 BPM, vocal becoming legend] But you don't kill a shadow — you scatter it thin, and it gathers somewhere, and it learns to begin. So the brother rode out with a torch and a vow: "I will hunt down the smoke till it answers for all of it now." [Outro — band falling to a single sustained chord, wind through stone, D minor, 140 BPM] [whisper, as in the beginning] Behind every throne there's a colder shadow... and a patient man, climbing home.

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