I counted every scar…
As if they meant something.
I gave my youth to iron and stone
Crossed blackened seas far from my home
I learned to bleed without making a sound
To lose what I loved and still hold my ground
I measured my worth by the battles I’d won
By enemies fallen and things I had done
I carried the weight, I carried the blame
Thinking one day it would mean something
But years disappear
Like tracks in the snow
And everything conquered…
Eventually goes
WHEN ALL IS GONE
WHAT WILL REMAIN?
THE BLOOD THAT I SPILLED?
THE YEARS AND THE PAIN?
I FOUGHT FOR A NAME
I FOUGHT TO BELONG
BUT TIME TOOK IT ALL…
WHEN ALL IS GONE
I watched mighty halls disappear into flame
Watched brothers become little more than a name
The shields that we carried are buried below
And no one remembers the wars long ago
I thought if I stood when the others would fall
I’d somehow become something greater than all
But mountains still rise and the cold rivers run
As if all my battles…
Had never been won
So what was the cost?
And what did I gain?
A lifetime of scars…
And memories of pain
WHEN ALL IS GONE
WHAT WILL REMAIN?
THE BLOOD THAT I SPILLED?
THE YEARS AND THE PAIN?
I FOUGHT FOR A NAME
I FOUGHT TO BELONG
BUT TIME TOOK IT ALL…
WHEN ALL IS GONE
My axe will rust
My shield will break
My footsteps vanish
Beneath the waves
The songs will fade
The fires will die
Even the ravens…
Will leave this sky
So many winters
So many graves
So many things
I thought I could save
I held them tightly
Until my hands bled
But nothing stays…
Nothing stays…
I GAVE THEM MY BLOOD!
I GAVE THEM MY YEARS!
I WALKED THROUGH THE FIRE!
I SWALLOWED MY FEAR!
I FOUGHT UNTIL NOTHING
WAS LEFT TO HOLD ON!
AND STILL…
IT…
ALL…
MOVED…
ON!
WHEN ALL IS GONE
WHAT WILL REMAIN?
NOT EVERY BATTLE
NOT EVERY NAME
THE STEEL WILL TURN DUST
THE KINGDOMS WILL FALL
AND TIME WILL KEEP MOVING…
BEYOND US ALL
WHEN ALL IS GONE
AND NIGHT TAKES THE SUN
I’LL KNOW THAT MY JOURNEY
HAS FINALLY RUN
I FOUGHT FOR SO LONG
TO PROVE I WAS STRONG
ONLY TO LEARN…
NOTHING LASTS FOREVER
I thought I had to win…
Perhaps surviving…
was enough.
