[Intro: Gregorian chant-trained male lead, chant over low strings] Kyrie, kyrie, up the hill in the cold Seven of us climbin' where the old walls hold [Verse 1: Gregorian chant-trained male lead, heavy half-time drums, low strings] Four hundred years since the fire took the beams Since the lead roof ran like a river down the seams Left the arches standin' open and the weather walkin' through And a nave of grass and thistle and a ceiling made of blue Once a year on the feast day seven men climb up the track With a lantern and a hymnal and a flask in every pack I'm the youngest of the seven and I asked about the roof Brother Anselm only smiled and said the hill will give you proof [Hook: Gregorian chant-trained male lead, full drums, strings swelling] Nothing overhead, not a shingle, not a beam Not a cent we owe a soul, not a ceiling on the dream Alleluia through the open where the old roof used to be And the song goes up forever 'cause there's nothin' over me [Verse 2: Gregorian chant-trained male lead, pounding toms, distorted bass] We stood up in the transept where the altar used to stand Seven voices in the frost and the hymnal in my hand And the first note left my mouth and it never came back down In a church it hits the stone and it circles round and round Here it rose like it was lifted, like it had a place to be And I swear I heard it travel past the ridge and toward the sea Seven men and not a rafter throwin' any of it back And I sang it like I meant it, every word along the track [Bridge: Gregorian chant-trained male lead, unroofed tail, the last chanted word rings on with no ceiling, then the toms crash back] Kyrie eleison Christe eleison Up through the open and the arches and the cold Let it go, let it go, there's nothin' left to hold [Verse 3: Gregorian chant-trained male lead, full drums, strings, the payoff] When we walked down in the mornin' the whole village was awake Said they heard us in the valley, said they heard it by the lake Old Martha at the bakery said she'd lived here eighty years Never heard the abbey sing until it reached her through the ears And Anselm laughed beside me, said you asked about the roof Five hundred years it held the song inside, and there's your proof When it stood, they sang for monks, and when it burned, they sang for all So we leave the sky wide open and we let the valley call [Hook: Gregorian chant-trained male lead, full drums, strings swelling] Nothing overhead, not a shingle, not a beam Not a cent we owe a soul, not a ceiling on the dream Alleluia through the open where the old roof used to be And the song goes up forever 'cause there's nothin' over me [End]
