[Instrumental Intro — 8 bars, no vocals] [Sparse fingerpicked steel-string acoustic guitar] [Faint breathy ney ambience, distant ] [No drums] [Verse 1 — soft, slow, conversational] At noon one day, through Solomon’s gate, A nobleman came in a terrible state. His lips had turned blue, his face had gone white. He stood in the doorway like a man seeing night. King Solomon asked him, “What sorrow have you known? What shadow has followed you all the way home?” The man looked behind him with fear in his eyes: “Death stood in my path, wearing anger’s disguise.” [Chorus — gentle, memorable, unhurried] You can run from a shadow across every land, You can beg for the wind and command it to stand. But the road that you fear may be the road fate has planned— You may run from your ending straight into its hands. [Verse 2 — restrained, slightly darker] “Send me to Hindustan, O king, if you can. Let the wind carry me far from this land. If I cross the great waters before night comes around, Maybe death will lose me when I’m nowhere near town.” King Solomon lifted his hand to the sky: “Wind, carry this traveler. Let him swiftly fly.” The air took his coat. The sea opened wide. And before dawn was breaking, he vanished from sight. [Chorus — fuller, still restrained] You can run from a shadow[Chorus — fuller, still restrained] You can run from a shadow to stand. But the road that you fear may be the road fate has planned— You may run from your ending straight into its hands. [Verse 3 — quiet, reflective] The next day at court, when the lamps had burned low, Solomon called Death from the halls below. “Why did you frighten that man with a hard, burning stare? You sent him fleeing like a thief through the cold morning air.” Death shook his head slowly: “My king, that was not why. I saw him with wonder. There was no wrath in my eye. For God had commanded me, before evening fell, To gather his soul in the far land of Hindustan. I wondered to see him still standing right there— For Hindustan lay many long days from here.” [Bridge — music strips back; bass and one light brush] So the man saw a warning and mistook it for hate. He called it a prison when it opened a gate. He thought he was choosing the road he would take— But the road had been waiting before he awoke. [Final Chorus — gradual pedal steel enters] You can run from a shadow across every land, You can beg for the wind and command it to stand. But the road that you fear may be the road fate has planned— You may run from your ending straight into its hands. So who are you fleeing? Yourself in the night? And what can you steal from the Keeper of Life? The world turns its wheel by a measure unseen— What looks like misfortune may be mercy unseen. [Outro — fading acoustic guitar and distant pedal steel] Don’t curse every crossroads. Don’t tremble at fate. The door you call danger may open too late. And the road you take running, with tears in your eyes— May be the very road where your final truth lies. [Instrumental Fade — acoustic guitar, soft pedal steel, silence]
