THE BLACKSMITH [Intro — furnace roar, chains, distant hammer strikes] Hear ye, hear ye— Come closer, good sir. Mind thy purse. Mind thy fingers. For iron hath a price... And so hath every man. [Verse I — low, conversational drill] Up with the shutters, the furnace is roaring, Dawn finds me hammering, sparks ever-soaring, Knaves at the doorway, the watchmen come calling, Each with a purse and a grievance worth scoring. Pikes for the pikemen, blades for the brigand, Steel for the soldier who marches on command, Daggers for cutthroats with blood on their hands, Pay me in silver and leave whilst thou canst. Rapier for rogues with a taste for the finer, Broadblade for thugs who prefer something wider, Mail for the guard and a mace for the friar, All of them claiming their cause is the higher. I ask not thy business, I ask what thou'lt pay, I care not whose blood shall be spilled on the way, The crown hath its taxes, the thieves have their take, But every last bastard must pay for his blade. [Pre-Chorus — building] Coin in the coffer, coal in the grate, Weight on the anvil, profit on weight, Guard at the gate, thief out of sight— Both come to me when they fancy a fight. [Chorus — huge, chant-like] STEEL FOR THE CROWN, STEEL FOR THE KNAVE, STEEL FOR THE COWARD, STEEL FOR THE BRAVE. PAY ME IN SILVER, PAY ME IN GOLD— I SELL THE MEANS TO BE FEARED, NOT CONTROLLED. GUARD IN THE GARRISON, THIEF IN THE ROAD, KNIGHT IN HIS COLOURS, KNAVE IN HIS HOOD, SAME BLOODY IRON, SAME BLOODY TRADE— THOU BRINGEST THE COIN, I BRINGEST THE BLADE. [Verse II — faster, tighter flow] Sheriff wants six and the captain wants twenty, Bandits want daggers and claim they have plenty, Mercenary wants steel that'll cleave through a plenty— He'll pay me in crowns, so the bastard hath plenty. Gold for the goblet, gold for the grain, Gold for the armour that'll shelter the brain, Gold from the nobleman, fresh from his reign, Gold from the outlaw who robbed his domain. Funny old kingdom, the way that it turns— The watch chase the thieves whilst the furnace still burns. The thief wears my iron, the watchman wears mine, Both swear by their honour whilst handing me coin. One buys for justice, one buys for revenge, One buys to defend, one buys to avenge, But steel hath no conscience, nor iron hath friends— It cares not for causes. It cares where it ends. [Pre-Chorus] Coin in the coffer, coal in the grate, Hammer comes down and I calculate, Lord at the table, knave at the gate— Both bloody fools if they think steel is fate. [Chorus] STEEL FOR THE CROWN, STEEL FOR THE KNAVE, STEEL FOR THE COWARD, STEEL FOR THE BRAVE. PAY ME IN SILVER, PAY ME IN GOLD— I SELL THE MEANS TO BE FEARED, NOT CONTROLLED. GUARD IN THE GARRISON, THIEF IN THE ROAD, KNIGHT IN HIS COLOURS, KNAVE IN HIS HOOD, SAME BLOODY IRON, SAME BLOODY TRADE— THOU BRINGEST THE COIN, I BRINGEST THE BLADE. [Bridge — stripped beat, anvil percussion] And who keeps the ledger? I. Who knows the number? I. Who knows which guard bought the dagger that slew the man the sheriff sent him to find? ... I. [Beat drops] Thou callest them villains. Thou callest them law. Thou callest one righteous, the other a whore. But when thy hand trembles and danger draws near— Whose door dost thou darken? Whose steel dost thou bear? [Breakdown — massive halftime] HAMMER. FALL. IRON. CALL. COIN. TALL. I. SELL. ALL. [Verse III — triumphant, filthy] I've forged every weapon that hangs in this town, From the lord's gilded sabre to cleaver worn brown, I've armed every bastard from throne to the ground, And still they come begging when trouble comes round. I've muscle beside me, I've steel at my side, Three men in my doorway and none get inside, My coffers are swollen, my furnace is wide, Try taking my silver— Come see what I've forged inside. No saint am I, lad, nor devil am I, I'm merely a tradesman who happens to ply A trade where the clever get rich when men die— And fools make the finest of customers, aye. So bless thy good king and his laws if thou must, Kiss thy priest's ring and put faith in his trust, But when comes the hour when thy faith turns to dust— Come bring me thy silver. I'll forge thee thy justice. [Final Chorus — full choir + drums] STEEL FOR THE CROWN, STEEL FOR THE KNAVE, STEEL FOR THE COWARD, STEEL FOR THE BRAVE. PAY ME IN SILVER, PAY ME IN GOLD— I SELL THE MEANS TO BE FEARED, NOT CONTROLLED. GUARD IN THE GARRISON, THIEF IN THE ROAD, KNIGHT IN HIS COLOURS, KNAVE IN HIS HOOD, SAME BLOODY IRON, SAME BLOODY TRADE— THOU BRINGEST THE COIN. I BRINGEST THE BLADE. [Outro — lone hammer strikes] One for the crown. One for the thief. One for the guard... And one for thee. Clang. Next customer.
