Lyrics
Verse 1
The First sat high upon a golden throne,
He turned his people's bread to heavy stone.
He built great walls to keep the truth outside,
And fed his ego on a march of pride.
But walls of stone are brittle at the base,
When millions rise to look you in the face.
The guards walked out, the iron gates gave way,
He fled in shadows at the break of day.
Chorus
Oh, the higher that you climb on broken backs,
The faster that the frozen ceiling cracks.
The crowns will melt, the heavy scepters fall,
The earth forgets the names of one and all.
Verse 2
The Second ruled with whispers and with fear,
A silent knife to anyone too near.
He kept a ledger of the words they spoke,
And turned the nighttime to a heavy smoke.
But secrets have a way of leaking out,
A quiet murmur turns into a shout.
His closest shadow dealt the final blow,
A poison cup to end the puppet show.
Chorus
Oh, the higher that you climb on broken backs,
The faster that the frozen ceiling cracks.
The crowns will melt, the heavy scepters fall,
The earth forgets the names of one and all.
Verse 3
The Third was blinded by the wealth she stole,
She bought the land and tried to buy the soul.
She counted coins while children starved below,
And watched her empire like a theater show.
The winter came, the factories grew cold,
The angry hungry grew a hundredfold.
They breached the vault and tore the banners down,
And in the river threw her stolen crown.
Bridge
Three seats of power shattered in the dust,
Their iron laws consumed by time and rust.
But one remained, the fiercest of the pack,
Who swore he'd bring the old dominion back.
Verse 4
The Fourth relied on armor and on fire,
He built a war machine of dark desire.
He dared the world to challenge his command,
And drew a line of blood across the sand.
But machines of war run out of oil and breath,
When all you offer to the world is death.
His armies turned, his fortress fell apart,
He died alone with winter in his heart.
Outro
The thrones are empty now, the fields are green,
The grass grows over where the kings had been.
The statues tumble and the vultures cry,
And under freedom breathes a quiet sky.
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