The Ballad of the Fractured Land

Gather 'round and listen close, a tale from the city of stone Where a former king in a tailored suit now stands in the court alone Thirty-four times the gavel cracked, for a ledger of secrets kept And a jury of twelve from every walk, a verdict have accepted The towers gleam, the traffic roars, but history holds its breath To write a page on power's cost, and a kind of living death Oh, the winds of fortune howl and blow across this fractured land The same old story, a different show, with a different dealer's hand

From the courthouse steps to the dusty plains, a worried song is sung And the truth gets caught in the driving rains, on the tip of every tongue On the college green where the ivy clings, a different struggle wakes With banners raised for distant things, and for their conscience' sakes They build their towns of tent and sign, a protest, raw and loud While the guardians in their patient line, stand watching in the crowd A fight for speech, a plea for peace, a world away from home Beneath the oaks and elm trees, a future's seed is sown

Oh, the winds of fortune howl and blow across this fractured land The same old story, a different show, with a different dealer's hand From the courthouse steps to the dusty plains, a worried song is sung And the truth gets caught in the driving rains, on the tip of every tongue I've seen the storms that tear the sky, I've seen the summer's heat I've seen the hopeful look in an eye, and the sorrow of defeat You think your chapter's strange and new, your troubles hard and deep But the river of time is flowing through, with promises to keep and secrets to sleep

Oh, the winds of fortune howl and blow across this fractured land The same old story, a different show, with a different dealer's hand From the courthouse steps to the dusty plains, a worried song is sung And the truth gets caught in the driving rains, on the tip of every tongue