Xanthus Turns Red (Around the Wall)

[Verse 1] Dust in my teeth Iron in my hands You begged for a burial I answered with sand Chariot creaks Body tied by the heels Your helmet once caught the sun Now it rattles on my wheels [Chorus] Round and round the walls of Troy Hear the river roar Hear the river roar Xanthus Drink this broken boy Till your gentle bed runs red once more [Verse 2] Horses foam at the bit They remember your name But my rage runs deeper Than any current you can claim You swore on the gods You’d strike my story down Now your hair combs the ground Like an inverted crown [Chorus] Round and round the walls of Troy Hear the river roar Hear the river roar Xanthus Drink this broken boy Till your gentle bed runs red once more [Bridge] [low vocal register] River You rose against me Golden You thundered “Yield” I sank my heels in the mud Turned your flood to a battlefield You carried his fathers’ symbols You carved the orchards and grain Tonight you carry Hector And the echo of his name [Chorus] Round and round the walls of Troy Hear the river roar Hear the river roar Xanthus Drink this broken boy Till your gentle bed runs red once more [Outro] [whispered vocals] Sleep Son of Priam The river takes the weight Xanthus cools your bruises I drag my own hate Further than the walls Deeper than the ford All that water running Still can’t wash his sword