What the Wood Still Knows — Ember of Midgard — Nordic Folk Rock

Full English Lyrics [Verse 1] The key was cold inside my hand, The door gave way beneath the snow, Ten years of dust upon the bench, Ten years of things I chose not to know. His hammer slept beside the wall, The shavings curled beneath my feet, And then I heard another step — My brother standing in the street. He said, “We clear it out by morning, The buyer comes before the noon.” I nodded like a stranger would, Beneath our father's hanging tools. [Pre-Chorus] We had learned to live with silence, We had learned to call it peace, But every board beneath us whispered Of the things that do not leave. [Chorus] The wood still knows our names, Though we forgot the sound. What years pulled far apart Can still be turned around. We don't have to keep the ashes, We don't have to lose the past. If there's something worth remembering, We'll build something meant to last. [Verse 2] We found the chest behind the timber, Under cloth and rusted nails, An unfinished nyckelharpa, Pale as winter on the rails. The keys were carved but not yet fitted, One string waited for its tone, And on the inside of the body Two small names were cut in stone. Mine was there beside my brother's, Like when we both were nine and twelve, Before the words we threw like weapons, Before we learned to guard ourselves. [Pre-Chorus] He said, “I thought you chose to leave us.” I said, “I thought you wanted me gone.” And suddenly ten years of anger Didn't sound so strong. [Chorus] The wood still knows our names, Though we forgot the sound. What years pulled far apart Can still be turned around. We don't have to keep the ashes, We don't have to lose the past. If there's something worth remembering, We'll build something meant to last. [Instrumental Passage] [Tagelharpa pulse, nyckelharpa melody, deep drums building, low horns and melodic electric guitar] [Verse 3] Behind the frame we found a letter, Never sealed and never sent, Three short lines in father's writing, No apology, no testament. “Don't save the walls because I built them. Don't stay because you think you should. But if you meet here after I'm gone, Finish what I never could.” My brother laughed and then went quiet, I felt the years fall from the room. Outside, the evening covered everything In that deep December blue. [Bridge] So we carried out the broken things, Kept only what still had a use, Opened every frozen window, Let the old air finally loose. He shaped the bridge, I strung the body, Neither spoke of blame again, And when the first clear note went ringing, It sounded nothing like the end. [Choir Build] Oh-oh-oh… Carry what is worthy. Oh-oh-oh… Leave what caused the pain. [Final Chorus] The wood still knows our names, Now we remember too. Not every broken thing Was meant to stay in two. We don't have to live like yesterday, We don't have to cut it loose. We can take what love left unfinished And decide what we will choose. The wood still knows our names, Let every rafter hear. We lost more than we needed, But we're standing together here. No, the past cannot be altered, And no promise makes it whole — But two hands finishing one song Can give the silence back its soul. [Outro] The buyer came next morning. We told him not today. Then my brother turned the key again… And this time, I chose to stay.