[Intro - Short, Tense] [Verse 1 - Restrained Full Band] Fires beneath the mountains, Far apart across the stone. Months of road behind them, Different banners, different homes. Some had served another crown, Some had crossed from farther lands. No one road had brought them here. Night held every camp. [Pre-Chorus 1 - Rising Tension] Nothing old had disappeared. Nothing bound them into one. But every fire was waiting For whatever came before the sun. [Chorus 1 - Strong Full Band] Many roads to Adwa, Many fires in the night. Then the warning crossed the mountain, And the camps began to rise. From the dark they moved together, From the roads they left behind. Not forever. Not as one. Just long enough this time. [Verse 2 - Driving Full Band] Across the mountain darkness, Italian columns left their ground. Eritrean ranks beside them, Rifles carried without sound. One moved farther through the night, Others drifted out of reach. Men crossed through the same mountains, Losing sight of those they needed. [Pre-Chorus 2 - Building] Word reached the camps Before the first light came. One fire died, Then another. The roads began to change. [Chorus 2 - Bigger, Driving] Many roads to Adwa, Many fires in the night. Then the warning crossed the mountain, And the camps began to rise. From the dark they moved together, From the roads they left behind. Not forever. Not as one. Just long enough this time. [Verse 3 - Heavy, Driving] The first brigade stood far ahead. The others could not close the ground. From different camps the rifles gathered, Closer now with every sound. Menelik held the waiting lines, Then sent them toward the fight. Taytu kept her people moving, Water passing hand to hand. [Bridge - Heavy, Escalating, Powerful] Rifles answered rifles. Cannons shook the stone. More came down the mountain. More pressed toward the dawn. One line reached for the others. The distance held them back. The men who came by different roads Were standing in the gap. [Guitar Solo - Melodic, Aggressive, Sustained] [Final Chorus - Heavy, Powerful, Full Voice] Many roads at Adwa, Many fires lost to day. When the morning crossed the mountains, They had held the ground they came to defend. Nothing old had disappeared. Nothing made their stories one. Not forever. Not as one. But long enough was done. [Outro - Short, Quiet] By noon the mountain carried The living and the dead. And the roads went separate, As they had before the dawn.
