[language: English] [Intro | low industrial drone | spoken baritone] On the state of Europe [Strophe 1 | dark post-punk pulse | solemn baritone vocal] I saw the continent that rose from burning: the sealed treaty, the open border, the freed — the union slowly, dearly, painfully earning what three wars gave in ruin to concede. Where is that covenant now? Look at the square: the demagogue already has his crowd there. [Instrumental Refrain | martial toms | cold bass motif] [Strophe 2 | tighter rhythm | restrained political urgency] They come with simple answers to the grief. The careful word cannot outlast the shout. Democracy is patient; patience is brief when the confident voice can manufacture doubt. From east to west the old commitments fray — and those who name it are the first ones called afraid. [Strophe 3 | darker synth pressure | low backing chants] Ukraine bleeds into winters we don't share. The council chambers fill with calculation. We speak of principles and take the chair, then weigh the cost against the next election. The vow was: never again. The vow was sealed by those now dead. The living renegotiate the deal. [Instrumental Refrain | distorted low synth | marching pulse] [Final Strophe | wider vocal | solemn melodic lift] What holds a continent? Not roads or rail, not common market, not the unlocked door — it holds when people will not let it fail to name what some things must be answered for. We are not lost. We stand precisely there where we once stood when cost was elsewhere. [Outro | fading martial rhythm | spoken final cadence] We stand precisely there where cost was elsewhere. [End]
