[Intro] [Instrumental] [Verse 1] At dawn the bells were wrapped in wool The wells wore skins of ice You tied your mother’s copper comb And crossed the furrowed fields The fever carts came down the pass Their wheels ground ash and snow You held a lantern to the road And would not let them go [Pre-Chorus] When the watchfires lost their names You stood where the black pines split [Chorus] Maiden, carry the winter flame Through the plague and the warring years When the iron banners take the plain Keep the lost ones near Maiden, your hands are scarred with ash Your oath outlasts the spear Where the last white fields are turning black You are still here [Verse 2] The lord rode south with half his men The rest were fever-thin You broke the storehouse seal at night And let the children in A wounded scout brought word of war His horse was flecked with red You bound his ribs with linen strips And gave him both your bread [Pre-Chorus] No crown was waiting in the hall No song would name your deed [Chorus] Maiden, carry the winter flame Through the plague and the warring years When the iron banners take the plain Keep the lost ones near Maiden, your hands are scarred with ash Your oath outlasts the spear Where the last white fields are turning black You are still here [Bridge] At the ford the armies met Under a sun gone dim You led the fevered, old, and young Through the alder marsh Behind you, shields struck shield like hail Before you, wolves kept still And morning found the pass unclaimed The valley breathing, pale [Final Chorus] Maiden, carry the winter flame Through the plague and the warring years When the iron banners take the plain Keep the lost ones near Maiden, your hands are scarred with ash Your oath outlasts the spear Where the last white fields are turning black You are still here [Outro] You are still here When the thaw returns
