[Verse 1] I was there in the first smoke When the rivers learned to shake Bison ran with split hooves And the black sky took a name No fairytale, no clean wound Just teeth in the winter air I watched the old world buckle Under iron, fire, and flare [Pre-Chorus] They came from the red ridges They came from the marsh and pine Nine kings with split-hot throats And a flock of ash behind I kept the bone record I kept the oath in flame You want the truth of America? Then say it right by name [Chorus] Tiamat knows the real war Tiamat knows the cost The dragon wars in America Were never really lost Tiamat knows the real war Hear the old earth moan We fed the sky with fire Till the fire ate the throne (the throne) [Verse 2] At the Mississippi crossings They tore the bridges down A gold one over the cornfields Left a shadow on the ground In the Rockies, blue-scaled riders Sank a train into the snow In the bayou, old breath rose up And made the cypress glow I saw prayers on the windmills I saw rifles hit the dirt When a mother held her children The heavens learned to hurt [Pre-Chorus] They sold you polished legends They buried names in stone But every burned-out prairie Has a witness of its own I kept the bone record I kept the oath in flame You want the truth of America? Then say it right by name [Chorus] Tiamat knows the real war Tiamat knows the cost The dragon wars in America Were never really lost Tiamat knows the real war Hear the old earth moan We fed the sky with fire Till the fire ate the throne (the throne) [Bridge] I am the mouth of ruin I am the last bright scar I watched the banner fall hard From the courthouse to the yard Not one clean hand survived it Not one lie stayed pure Only ash in the orchards And the debt beneath the floor [Final Chorus] Tiamat knows the real war Tiamat knows the cost The dragon wars in America Were never really lost Tiamat knows the real war Say it, bone to bone We fed the sky with fire Till the fire ate the throne (the throne)
