[Intro] (Slow, melancholic acoustic guitar picking. A faint sound of cold wind howling in the background. A steady, marching drumbeat kicks in.) [Verse 1] The orange glow is fading in the east We left behind the belly of the beast But out here in the quiet and the cold The heavy truth of survival unfolds The pavement turns to dirt and jagged stone I've never felt so terribly alone No sirens wail, no engines roar ahead Just whispering winds and shadows of the dead. [Chorus] Welcome to the barren ground Where the silence is the only sound The trees are standing tall and unbothered By the falling of the world we fathered We have to learn to walk, to breathe, to fight Underneath the unforgiving night On the barren ground. [Verse 2] The compass shivers in my shaking hand We are just strangers in this empty land The screens are black, the satellites are blind We have to leave the modern age behind A heavy rain begins to wash the trail My modern jacket suddenly feels frail The stomach aches, the muscles start to burn For every single mile, there is a price to earn. [Chorus] Welcome to the barren ground Where the silence is the only sound The trees are standing tall and unbothered By the falling of the world we fathered We have to learn to walk, to breathe, to fight Underneath the unforgiving night On the barren ground. [Verse 3] We gather broken branches for a spark Trying to push back against the dark A tiny flame ignites the freezing air A fleeting moment in a deep despair We share a can of beans, we share the grief The waking hours bring no real relief But as I look into the fire's glow I know we cannot let this fire go. [Chorus] Welcome to the barren ground Where the silence is the only sound The trees are standing tall and unbothered By the falling of the world we fathered We have to learn to walk, to breathe, to fight Underneath the unforgiving night On the barren ground. [Outro] Keep moving. Don't let the fire die. (The acoustic guitar slows down and fades out. The sound of heavy footsteps crunching on gravel remains, slowly echoing into silence.)
