[Andean Folk Intro] [Verse 1] My father takes Urco from Cusco. Their men are moving down the road. Above the roofs, the Chanca gather. Below, the doors of Cusco close. I could still follow while there is time. No hand has ordered me to stay. I turn before the road can take me and face the roofs of Cusco again. [Pre-Chorus] I send my runners through the ayllus. Some send men. Some send silence. No scarlet fringe is on my brow. Still I stay. [Chorus] If Cusco falls, it finds me here. Let the Chanca see me standing. No road will carry me away while there are hands that still can answer. No promise says the sun will rise. No title makes these men obey. If Cusco falls, it finds me here. I chose to stay. [Verse 2] Night settles cold against the stone. I fast while Cusco waits below. The mountains give no certain answer. The dark tells me nothing I can know. Then morning moves along the heights. The Chanca come. The first line bends beneath their weight. A gap opens beside the stone. I call the men back into it. This time they turn when I turn. [Chorus] If Cusco falls, it finds me here. Let the Chanca see me standing. No road will carry me away while there are hands that still can answer. No promise says the sun will rise. No title makes these men obey. If Cusco falls, it finds me here. I chose to stay. [Bridge] Dust climbs over broken ground. Men appear along the slope. Another shape. Another. For one breath the stones have shoulders. For one breath the hillside moves. I see men where rock had waited. I see rock where men now stand. More voices rise around me. Cusco is answering. I raise my hand toward the Chanca. ADVANCE! The pressure turns across the field. [Final Chorus] Cusco stands. And I am still here. The Chanca turn from the ground they came to take. The men who would not answer me now wait for what I say. [Intimate melodic passage: warm clean vocal, restrained accompaniment] I faced the dawn as Cusi Yupanqui. I stand here now as Pachacútec. The world has turned today. [End]
