Peasant Kings Of Tomorrow The Emerald Kunts (Fire Cut)

[Start] [Intro – Spoken / Hurdy-Gurdy Drone / Low Drum] Now gather close, ye bucket-hauling swine. My poor niece Maud has seen again. Aye, aye, she is crooked in her walking and strange in her reckonin’, but mock her not. The gods put one eye sideways and the other eye forward. Last eve, with fig on her tongue and rain in her hair, she told me of a far age... where even peasants live like kings. [pause] Naturally, I called her a liar. [Frame Drum Kicks] [Verse 1] She spoke of houses sealed from storm With winter kept outside the door No smoke-hole cough, no rushlight dim Yet rooms burn bright at a finger’s whim She said clean water leaps from walls Hot as soup or cold as squalls No well to drag No pail to swing Just turn a charm and rivers spring I spat my ale and crossed my chest Said, “Child, let goblins have the rest” But Maud just grinned through crooked teeth And dragged tomorrow from underneath [Call-and-Response] Water in walls? (Witchcraft!) Fire with no flame? (Witchcraft!) Peasants in baths? (Witchcraft!) And they complain? (Madcraft!) [Chorus – Shouted Tavern Chant] Ho! Ho! Peasant kings! Tomorrow wears impossible things! Turn the stone Pull the chain Waste goes vanishin’ down the drain! Ho! Ho! Gods be kind! Maud saw wonders fit to blind! Bread in boxes Cold kept still And glowing tiles that bend the will! [Verse 2] She saw a privy inside the room That swallowed filth with a watery boom No trench, no stench, no flies in prayer Just sit like a lord and leave it there She saw a chest of winter’s breath That kept dead meat from meeting death Milk stayed sweet Fish stayed brave Cheese lived long as a stubborn knave Then came meats already slain Wrapped in skins without a vein Stews in tins Birds in crust Meals for fools who fear no dust I said, “No wife would trust that fare” She said, “They heat it with lightning air” I said, “That’s sin” She said, “That’s lunch” Then stole my fig and took a crunch [Chorus – Louder / Rough Harmony] Ho! Ho! Peasant kings! Tomorrow wears impossible things! Turn the stone Pull the chain Waste goes vanishin’ down the drain! Ho! Ho! What a sight! They eat by day and feast by night! Cold box hums Fire box sings Even beggars dine like kings! [Break – Stomps / Bones / Heckling] Did Maud see bread? (Aye!) Did Maud see beer? (Nay!) Then what good future? (Hold thy sneer!) Did Maud see gold? (Nay!) Did Maud see ease? (Aye, and still they grumble, please!) [Verse 3] She saw a shrine in every hall A glowing square upon the wall It showed wars fought in distant lands And fools who dance with flapping hands It showed small men with giant pride Screaming thoughts from deep inside It showed soft cats And cooking tricks And lords brought low by moving pics Then in their palms, by gods most foul They held small mirrors with no soul Each tile whispered, sang, and lied And stole the hours from their eyes “They speak through air?” “Aye, uncle, true.” “To kin?” “To strangers.” “Why?” “None knew.” [Bridge – Beat Pulls Back / Low Drone] But hear me now, ye muddy crowd, If Maud speaks true beneath her cloud, Then all our backs and blistered hands Dream one day in richer lands. A river indoors. A fire obeyed. Cold summer milk. A bed well made. So laugh if ye must at tomorrow’s strange art, But comfort is magic to the worn-out heart. [Final Chorus – Full Troupe / Reckless Chant] Ho! Ho! Peasant kings! Tomorrow wears impossible things! Turn the stone Pull the chain Waste goes vanishin’ down the drain! Ho! Ho! Raise thy cup! For every poor soul climbing up! Warm dry rooms Cold sweet cream A common life like a noble dream! Ho! Ho! Hear Maud cry! “Future folk still curse the sky!” Given wonders Given wings Still they moan like tavern kings! [Outro – Spoken / Lute Pluck / Dry] And when I asked what these future folk do with such bounty... Maud said, “They sit indoors, stare into their glowing tiles, and argue with ghosts they have never met.” [pause] So aye. The gods gave them miracles. And not one lick of sense, it would seem. [End]