[Verse 1] Line after line at the altar of trade Ink on the flesh and the debt is repaid Silver and oil in the temple of gold A future bought cheap, a soul neatly sold My shaking hand would not rise to the brand So they marked me instead as a traitor to man No trumpet, no thunder, just quiet disgrace A name being stripped from the shape of my face [Pre-Chorus] They said “Just bend and you’ll be fed” “Just bow your head” [Chorus] Starve me Hunt me Cast me into the night Burn every road I once called mine Break me Bleed me Take what you think you can claim I still will not speak your name I will not kneel [Verse 2] Curtains twitch when I pass through the street Eyes in the shadows report what they see Once they broke bread and they drank at my side Now they recite every place I might hide Doors close early, the alleys grow thin Even the wind feels like turning me in Children are taught not to look me in the eye As if truth itself had been taught how to lie [Pre-Chorus] They said “It’s only for your good” “If you would” [Chorus] Starve me Hunt me Cast me into the night Burn every road I once called mine Break me Bleed me Take what you think you can claim I still will not speak your name I will not kneel [Verse 3] Blade in the dawn where the witnesses stand Iron reflections dance over the sand One final question, one final demand One final refusal, and death takes my hand No mercy promised, no rescue in sight Only the weight of a blood-stained light And I see their faces, both hollow and proud As they learn how to silence a crowd [Breakdown] Count every wound Count every scar Count every saint beneath the altar Count every head Count every breath Count every name pushed into death We are the ones you tried to erase We are the silence you could not replace We are the fire you buried in stone We are not gone We are not gone [Final Chorus] Starve me Hunt me Cast me into the flame I still deny your cursed name Break me Kill me The body falls away in time But truth does not learn to die I will not kneel [Outro] Under the altar A voice still cries And it is heard
