[Verse 1] They brought him in beneath the noon A man who wore the king’s own seal I knew the steel before the news Still not the shape of what I’d feel The dust rose slowly from the road No trumpet split the air in two Just silence where a life had stood And all the weight that silence grew [Pre-Chorus] What does a crown weigh now When every hand beneath it shakes? [Chorus] How shall the brave be laid to rest As if the earth could make this right? A sword was near, a heart was still And I was left to name the night You called me king; I could not keep The blood from finding its way through I grieve the man, I grieve the deed And all the harm I couldn’t undo [Verse 2] He served the house that sheltered him He trusted doors that should have held A promise broken in a room Where duty should have drawn the line I see the road turn red with blame I hear the tribes ask what I knew A kingdom waits upon my word While grief keeps pulling me in two [Pre-Chorus] I have the throne, I have the name But neither makes the dead return [Chorus] How shall the brave be laid to rest As if the earth could make this right? A sword was near, a heart was still And I was left to name the night You called me king; I could not keep The blood from finding its way through I grieve the man, I grieve the deed And all the harm I couldn’t undo [Bridge] I am not clean because I mourn Nor free because I raised my hands The guilty walk beneath my roof The cost runs deeper than commands If justice comes, let it come plain Not dressed in vengeance, not in haste I’ll carry what I cannot mend And answer for the trust I failed [Final Chorus] How shall the brave be laid to rest When honor breaks beneath the blade? A nation looks to me for peace I count the debts that grief has made You called me king; I wear the name With no sure answer to give you I grieve the man, I grieve the deed And what my power could not undo [Outro] The road goes on. The dead stay dead. The living ask what I will do.
