[Verse 1] The compass spun until the needle broke We choked upon the promises we spoke I spent my youth defending every hill And watched the valley bleed against my will The weight of choosing what is right or wrong Has crushed the singer and unstrung the song [Verse 2] You stumbled through the maze of your design Mistaking pride for something half-divine A zero added to a broken sum Waiting for a miracle to come Subtract the fracture, cancel out the blame Erase the shadow from the wooden frame [Chorus] Take my hands, I do not need them now Take my choice, I never mastered how To choose the path, to choose the righteous way Just tell me, Governor, what words to say A double negative to make it clear A quiet harbor from the storm of fear [Verse 3] No referendum on the morning bread No ballot cast among the quiet dead The burden lifts the moment you obey A golden lock upon the cage of day My shoulders drop, the fever leaves the skin The door is shut against the noise within [Chorus] Take my hands, I do not need them now Take my choice, I never mastered how To choose the path, to choose the righteous way Just tell me, Governor, what words to say A double negative to make it clear A quiet harbor from the storm of fear [Bridge] Is it surrender when the fight was lost? Did anyone compute the final cost? The ledger balanced. That is all that matters. We negated the flaw and called it peace! [Chorus] Take my hands, I do not need them now Take my choice, I never mastered how To choose the path, to choose the righteous way Just tell me, Governor, what words to say A double negative to make it clear A quiet harbor from the storm of fear [Outro] Lay it down Let the silent circuit wear the crown © 2026 The Shady River Bard. All rights reserved.
