[Intro] Ash on the altar, rain on the stone, I came to the circle, I came alone. A red thread tied to the bell in the tree, It pulled through the silence and summoned me. [Verse 1] North wind carried a warning at night, Three marks on the doorway, carved clean and white. I followed the river beneath iron skies, With salt in my pocket and dust in my eyes. [Pre-Chorus] At the old black gate, the keeper said, “Name what you fear, or turn and tread.” I gave him my sorrow, I gave him my blame, The lock broke open when I spoke my name. [Chorus] Rise, rise, heart of the hollow, Beat where the broken drums call and follow. Turn, turn, wheel of the flame, I entered as one, I departed changed. [Verse 2] Inside stood a child with a crown made of reed, Guarding a seed no hand dared to feed. She said, “This was planted by those who were gone; It sleeps through the night, but it wakes with the dawn.” [Pre-Chorus] I poured out the water, I loosened the chain, I buried the token beneath the black rain. The floor began shaking, the high strings cried, And something beneath us opened wide. [Chorus] Rise, rise, heart of the hollow, Beat where the broken drums call and follow. Turn, turn, wheel of the flame, I entered as one, I departed changed. [Bridge] Violin cuts through the smoke and the sand, A silver command from an unseen hand. The child took the seed, the gate lost its hold, The night split apart and the river turned gold. [Final Chorus] Rise, rise, heart of the hollow, Beat where the living and the lost now follow. Turn, turn, wheel of the flame, I carried the dawn when I walked away. [Outro] Ash on the altar, rain on the stone, I crossed the valley, no longer alone. The red thread loosened, the bell swung free, And morning came quietly over me.
