Where the Longhouses Stand Again — Ember of Midgard — Nordic Folk Rock

Full English Lyrics [Verse 1 – Male Vocal] We came across the silent field Where broken fences would not yield The winter grass had claimed the lane And empty roofs still spoke of pain I found the doorway of my youth Half buried underneath the soot No cooking smoke, no children’s feet Only the wind along the street [Verse 2 – Female Vocal] I walked beside the fallen wall And heard the names of one and all The loom was gone, the well was dry Yet swallows circled in the sky I placed my hand upon the ground And felt a heartbeat without sound “This soil remembers who we are, No wound can keep our people far” [Pre-Chorus – Duet] Bring the timber, bring the stone No one builds this place alone Hand to hand and side by side We will turn the grieving tide [Chorus – Duet and Viking Choir] Where the longhouses stand again We will welcome kin and friend Raise the beams and mend the grain Let the children speak our names Where the longhouses stand again We will heal what war has rent Every hammer, every hand Brings tomorrow to this land [Story Section – Male and Female Alternating] [Male] At dawn we cleared the shattered square The oldest among us gathered there [Female] The mothers carried clay and thread The young raised timber overhead [Male] A wounded smith relit his forge Beside the path and ruined gorge [Female] A girl replanted seeds of rye While geese returned across the sky [Duet] By dusk one roof stood firm and high A wooden promise to the sky And when the first warm lantern shone We knew the village was our own [Instrumental Folk Section] Tagelharpa and nyckelharpa lead a hopeful melody. Deep drums enter beneath melodic guitars, followed by flutes, horns and a rising choral chant. [Bridge – Female Lead, Male Harmony] We cannot bring the fallen near Or erase each bitter year But we can give their memory walls And carve their stories in our halls [Bridge Build – Male Lead] Let every doorway bear a sign That those before us still survive Not only carved in ash and wood But in the lives they made us build [Final Chorus – Full Duet and Massive Choir] Where the longhouses stand again We will welcome kin and friend Raise the beams and mend the grain Let the children speak our names Where the longhouses stand again We will heal what war has rent Every hammer, every hand Brings tomorrow to this land [Choir] Stone by stone! Beam by beam! Build the waking village dream! [Duet] Where the longhouses stand again We begin, but do not end Through the years our songs will stand Like the homes we built by hand [Outro – Male and Female Vocals] [Female] Now smoke is climbing through the dawn [Male] The empty road is empty no more [Duet] And where the broken houses lay A living village greets the day [Choir, slowly fading] Build again… Stand again… We are home again…