Tree

[verse] I have stood here longer than your names Watched your kingdoms rise and rot You carved your borders in the earth Then killed each other for the plot They tied the rope around my limbs I felt the weight of every man Some came screaming at the sky Some came quiet when they ran [chorus] I did not choose the rope I did not choose the dead I only gave them shelter Above their lowered heads [verse] Winter came and took the first Spring returned and brought another Son became the executioner Brother hanged beside his brother You called them traitors You called them thieves You called them monsters To make yourselves believe [chorus] I did not choose the rope I did not choose the dead I only gave them shelter Above their lowered heads [bridge] I have watched your mercy Turn into a blade Watched you build your justice From the graves you made And every year my branches grow Another ring beneath the bark I carry all your history I remember every mark [verse] Now children play beneath my shade And never ask what I have seen They carve their lovers into me Where once the gallows had been I will outlive your monuments Your laws, your flags, your names And when your kind has disappeared The wind will wear away the stains