VNV Nation - Praise the Fallen (1998)

Orders shouted in a strange guttural tongue that resounded
along the walls of the houses, which seemed dead and deserted,
while, behind the closed shutters, eyes watched the conquerors,
who, by right of war, were now masters of the city and of the lives
and fortunes of its people

In their darkened ruins the inhabitants have given way to the same
feeling of panic which is aroused by natural cataclysms, those
devastating upheavals of the Earth, against which wisdom and
strength alike are of no avail

Though the same feeling is experienced wherever the established
order of things is upset, when security ceases to exist, when all that
was previously protected by the laws of man and nature is suddenly
placed at the mercy of brutal, unreasoning force

The earthquake, burying a whole people beneath the ruins of their
houses, the river in spate, sweeping away the bodies of drowned
peasants, together with the carcasses of cattle and rafters torn from
roofs, and the victorious army slaughtering all who resist, making
prisoners of the rest, looting by right of the sword, and thanking their
god to the sound of cannon

All these are terrifying scourges which undermine all our belief in
eternal justice and all the trust we have been taught to place in divine
protection and human reason

Have I no control, is my soul not mine?
Am I not just man, destiny defined?
Never to be ruled nor held to heel
Not heaven or hell, just the land between

Am I not man, does my heart not bleed?
No lord, no God, no hate,
No pity, no pain, just me
Comprehend and countermand
Synchronous guidance, I choose my way
Never to be ruled nor held to heel
No heaven or hell, just the land between
And am I not man?

So why do I love when I still feel pain?
When does it end, when is my work done?
Why am I lone and why do I feel that
I carry a sword through a battlefield?
So why do I love when I still feel pain?
When does it end, when is my work done?
Why do I fight and why do I feel that
I carry a sword, that I carry a sword?

Like the path to heaven or the road to hell
Our choice is our own, consequences bind
We are the kings of wisdom, the fools as well
We are the gods to many, we are humble men
We who build great works just to break them down
We who make our rules so we never fail

So why do I love when I still feel pain?
When does it end, when is my work done?
Why am I lone and why do I feel that
I carry a sword through a battlefield?
So why do I love when I still feel pain?
When does it end, when is my work done?
Why do I fight and why do I feel that I carry a sword,
That I carry a sword through a battlefield?

I sat above them all and watched for days
I felt as though my own kind
Were all that mattered and kept me sane
I gathered them to me
Watched their hunted pass away
As if direction had finally come
A resurrection for all ourselves

I have never felt so proud
As I do now
Like the sun is placed behind me
Feelings that matter never end

One day we'll see our names
In stone where fires burn
The great who silent stood among you never
Praised nor never known
Our thoughts defined the passing days
Sensed the spirit, seized the age
After all these years to dream again
Like smiling children with faces raised
Cheering their path, tomorrow's glory days

And we who were so scorned
Will always wish to make their end
Our words to still their voice
Our hands to break their worthless necks

One day we'll see our names
In stone where fires burn
The great who silent stood among you
Never praised nor never known
Our thoughts defined the passing days
Sensed the spirit, seized the age
After all these years to dream again
Like smiling children with faces raised
Cheering their path, tomorrow's glory days

And we who were so scorned
Will always wish to make their end
Our words to still their voice
Our hands to break their worthless necks

We are not the same
I am just one voice

We are not the same
You will hear my voice

We are not the same
I am just one voice

We are not the same
I am not your God

When I have nothing left to feel
When I have nothing left to say
I'll just let this slip away

I feel these engines power down
I feel this heart begin to bleed
As I turn this burning page

Please forgive me if I bleed
Please forgive me if I breathe
I have words I need to say
Oh so very much to say

And whose life do I lead?
And whose blood do I bleed?
Whose air do I breathe?
With whose skin now do I feel?

I'm supposed to walk away from here
I'm supposed to walk away from here

(Help me)

And whose life do I lead?
Whose blood do I bleed?
Whose air do I now breathe?
I'm convinced there's nothing more

The day you died I lost my way
The day you died I lost my mind

What am I supposed to do?
Is there something more?

The engines power down
Like a soldier to his end I go
Because I'm convinced
That there is nothing more

And whose life do I lead
And whose air do I breathe?
With whose blood and whose skin do I feel?

What happens now?
Have I done something wrong?

Forgive my need to bleed right now
Please forgive my need to breathe
But I've so much to say
And it wouldn't matter anyway
You're not here to hear these words that I must say
And I'm convinced inside
That there is nothing more

Whose life do I lead?
Whose air do I breathe
Whose blood do I now bleed?
With whose skin now do I feel?

Nothing left to say
Nothing left to feel
Am I supposed to let this go now
Let darkness come and take you away

(If you're frightened of dying, and you're holding on
You'll see the devils are tearing your life away
If you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels
Freeing you from the earth)

Passive fields. January two thousand and twelve
A nation that stands alone
Cold voices, faces pale
Gathered unto their judgement day
Such pride remains unbroken
Such words remain unspoken
Just mothers to stand in vain and cry
Tears and medals in the rain
Shall I recall when justice did prevail?
No reason to be found why reason did fail
The all clear resounding
The way was clear to rebuild this land
Shall I call on you to guide me well
To see our hopes and dreams fulfilled?
On this day of our ascension

Stand your ground, this is what we are fighting for
For our spirit and laws and ways
Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war
For heaven or hell we shall not wait
Shall I think of honour as lies
Or lament its aged and slow demise?
Shall I stand as a total stranger
On this day in this stone chamber?

The all clear resounding
The way was clear to rebuild this land
Shall I call on you to guide me well
To see our hopes and dreams fulfilled
On this day of our ascension
On this day we praise the fallen

Stand your ground, this is what we are fighting for
For our spirit and laws and ways
Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war
For heaven or hell we shall not wait
Shall I think of honour as lies
Or lament its aged and slow demise?
Shall I stand as a total stranger
On this day in this stone chamber?

Stand your ground, this is what we are fighting for
For our spirit and laws and ways
Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war
For heaven or hell we shall not wait
Shall I think of honour as lies
Or lament its aged and slow demise?
Shall I stand as a total stranger
On this day in this stone chamber?

Stand your ground, this is what we are fighting for
For our spirit and laws and ways
Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war
For heaven or hell we shall not wait
Shall I think of honour as lies
Or lament its aged and slow demise?
Shall I stand as a total stranger
On this day in this stone chamber?

Set me aflame and cast me free
Away, you wretched world of tethers
Through the endless night and day
I have never wanted more
Always thought that I would stand
Before the faceless name of justice
Like some law unto myself
Like a child of God again

And if rain brings winds of change
Let it rain on us forever
I have no doubt from what I've seen
That I have never wanted more
With this line I'll mark the past
As a symbol of beginning
I have no doubt from what I've seen
I have never wanted more

In this picture stands a man
Far away, alone and distant
Like a solitary field
In some nameless foreign land
All around him points of light
Start to dim and cease transmitting
Shadows fell on futile games
And then there was nothing more
Through the screams of falling steel
By the light of flares and wisdom
All the doubts I could not face
All this time I wanted more
With a line I mark the past
As a symbol of beginning
To the Gods whose names we've lost
And the names who gave in vain

And if rain brings winds of change
Let it rain on us forever
I have no doubt from what I've seen
I have never wanted more
With this line I'll mark the past
As a symbol of beginning
I have no doubt from what I've seen
I have never wanted more

Set me aflame and cast me free
Away, you wretched world of tethers
Through the endless night and day
I have never wanted more
Always thought that I would stand
Before the faceless name of justice
Like some law unto myself
Like a child of God again

And if rain brings winds of change
Let it rain on us forever
I have no doubt from what I've seen
I have never wanted more
With this line I'll mark the past
As a symbol of beginning
I have no doubt from what I've seen
I have never wanted more

Sever the line to the guilty past
To the ones who brought us nothing
Spoke of futures brave and proud
And brought only hate and war
Line the roads with hollow praise
Mark the land with paper statues
Shadows fell on their futile ways
And then there was nothing more