[Intro: Distant Bells, Wind and Female Plainchant] [Female Choir] Jeanne… Jeanne… Child of the fields, hear Heaven calling. [Verse 1] In Domrémy beneath the bells, where wheat moved softly through the vale, a daughter knelt among the fields and heard a voice beyond the veil. Michael came in living brightness, Catherine spoke beside the flame, Margaret called the maiden forward, and Heaven placed upon her name: [Pre-Chorus] Go where the broken lilies fall. Go where the wounded kingdom grieves. The crown has lost its road to Reims. Become the faith that France still needs. [Chorus] Raise the white banner, let the lilies fly! Jeanne rides before us beneath the holy sky. No throne behind her, no shelter from the blade, the Maid of Orléans leads where kings are afraid. Ring every bell and let the war drums sound! The light of Heaven walks upon the ground. Through smoke and iron, through arrow, blood, and flame, France will remember the power of her name. [Verse 2] At Orléans the walls were weary, English fire sealed every road. Then through the gate she bore the standard, and frightened hearts became a host. Steel surrounded fragile shoulders, yet she rode where arrows fell. Not for conquest, gold, or glory, but the vow she knew too well. The siege was broken, banners lifted, Loire waters carried praise. And Charles was led beneath the arches to receive the crown at Reims. [Chorus] Raise the white banner, let the lilies fly! Jeanne rides before us beneath the holy sky. No throne behind her, no shelter from the blade, the Maid of Orléans leads where kings are afraid. Ring every bell and let the war drums sound! The light of Heaven walks upon the ground. Through smoke and iron, through arrow, blood, and flame, France will remember the power of her name. [Bridge: Choir and War Drums] [Deep Male Choir] Who stands before the army? [Female Lead] The maiden with the banner. [Male Choir] Who rides into the fire? [Female Lead] The servant of the Lord. [Full Choir] No crown upon her brow, no kingdom in her hand, yet every knight behind her rose to defend the land! [All] Jeanne! Jeanne! The lilies rise! Jeanne! Jeanne! Let France arise! [Verse 3: Darker, Restrained] At Compiègne the gate closed behind her. Chains replaced the reins of war. Those who feared the truth she carried sold the maiden to Rouen’s law. Robes of judgment filled the chamber. Questions circled like a snare. Still she would not curse her voices. Still she answered them with prayer. They named devotion disobedience. They dressed vengeance in the faith. But no verdict forged by kingdoms could command her soul to break. [Lament: Female Choir and Bells] At nineteen years beneath the morning, wood was raised in Rouen’s square. Fire climbed around the standard they could never make her bear. She called the name of Jesus while the smoke concealed the sky. Earth believed it watched her ending. Heaven watched a saint arise. [Final Chorus: Full Cathedral and Army] Raise the white banner, let the lilies fly! Jeanne walks in glory beyond the mortal sky. No court could bind her, no fire erase the maid, the Saint of Orléans lives where kings begin to fade. Ring every bell and let the great choir sound! The truth they buried rises from the ground. Through every century, through every scar and flame, France still remembers the power of her name. Raise the white banner, carry it through the night! She was the sword of courage and the shield of light. Where hope lies wounded, where fearful hearts withdraw, the daughter of Domrémy still answers Heaven’s call. [Outro: Lone Female Voice] You gave her neither throne nor years, only a road through war and tears. She gave You every breath she had. And France was changed forever. [Distant Choir] Jeanne… Jeanne… The banner still is flying.
