[Opening Hum] Mm ah, mm ah Stone below and stone above Mm ah, mm ah Hold the thread and hold the love [Verse 1] Taken young from hearth and tunnel Sold for silk and spider thread Given not to chains or hunger But to hands that kept him fed Elezer, root and shadow Took the child and taught him slow How to listen to the water How to make the pale things grow [Call] Master, see me, I am bending [Response] Bend, boy, bend, the work is long [Call] Master, hear me, I am mending [Response] Mend, boy, mend, though hope is gone [Chorus] Varkin, Varkin, Deepmender Grove Tender, far from home Varkin, Varkin, Deepmender Mend the dark beneath the stone Pull the thread and press it down Work the wound beneath the ground If the dark has not yet won Keep on mending till it’s done [Verse 2] In the groves below the mountain Where the giant spiders fed He drew silk from living shadow Spun the strands and dyed them red Robes for warding, veils for healing Thread with old green magic sewn Every knot a quiet promise Every garment not his own Then the crystal found the water Then the deep roots drank the stain Then the livestock died in silence Then the flowers bloomed in pain [Verse 3] Mist came crawling through the caverns No prayer drove the breath away Every cure they laid upon it Failed before the break of day So they opened up a crossing To the ruined world above Sent him out with fear behind him Sent him out with work and love But the space between was hungry But the road between was wide When he reached the broken surface None were standing at his side [Call] Master, was I meant to wander? [Response] Walk, boy, walk, the road is hard [Call] Master, did I fail the crossing? [Response] Carry, boy, the broken shard [Chorus] Varkin, Varkin, Deepmender Grove Tender, far from home Varkin, Varkin, Deepmender Mend the dark beneath the stone Pull the thread and press it down Work the wound beneath the ground If the dark has not yet won Keep on mending till it’s done [Verse 4] He has learned the words of cleansing But a word is not a cure He has walked the blighted gardens He has found no ending sure Still he kneels beside the water Still he tests the tainted loam Still he carries every failure Like a message written home And if Elezer cannot answer If the dark has sealed his tongue Still the vow is not yet broken Still the final thread’s not spun [Call] Master, if your faith was wasted [Response] No, boy, no, the seed is sown [Call] Master, if the dark has taken [Response] Go, boy, go, you are not alone [Final Chorus] Varkin, Varkin, Deepmender Grove Tender, far from home Varkin, Varkin, Deepmender Mend the dark beneath the stone Pull the thread and press it down Work the wound beneath the ground If the dark has not yet won Keep on mending till it’s done Varkin, Varkin, Deepmender Grief in the breath and mud on the bone Varkin, Varkin, Deepmender Carry the land when it cannot stand alone [Outro: Fading Work Song] Mm ah, mm ah Hold the thread and hold the line Mm ah, mm ah Not yet whole, but still entwined Mm ah, mm ah Stone below and stone above Mm ah, mm ah Work is grief and work is love
