35

Lyrics

​(Intro)
(A lone, dusty acoustic guitar fingerpicks a weary melody. A pedal steel guitar let's out a long, mournful cry in the distance.)
​(Verse 1)
In the gray streets of Berlin, the hunger was a ghost
And her brother took the coin that the Kaiser offered most.
"I’ll be back with gold," he whispered, "by the turning of the leaf"
But the letters stopped in Peking, leaving nothing but her grief.
She chopped her golden braids away, she dirtied up her face
She stole a Sergeant’s uniform and stepped into his place.
A silent girl from Prussia, in a column marching slow
Heading for the dragon’s heart, where the fires start to glow.
​(Verse 2)
The dust of China’s plains was thick, the sun was like a blade
She kept her head down in the ranks, a phantom in the shade.
But by a campfire near Tianjin, a shadow caught her eye
A man from Tennessee was watching as the moon climbed up the sky.
He saw the way she moved her hands, the softness in her jaw
He saw the truth behind the mask that the officers never saw.
He was leaning on his Winchester, a lonesome, rugged man
Coming for his brother and that rattling Gatling gun.
​(Chorus)
SOME SECRETS ARE TOO HEAVY TO BE CARRIED ALL ALONE
ON A MARCH THROUGH ANCIENT TEMPLES AND A TRAIL OF MUD AND STONE!
HE’S GOT A SOUTHERN DRAWL, SHE’S GOT A HEART OF PRUSSIAN STEEL
BUT THEY’RE BOTH CHASING A PROMISE THAT THE POWDER CAN’T CONCEAL!
YEAH, THE RIFLEMAN FROM KNOXVILLE KEEPS THE GIRL FROM BERLIN’S LIGHT
TWO GHOSTS AMONG THE THOUSANDS, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!
​(Bridge)
(The pedal steel swells with emotion as the acoustic guitar strumming grows more intense.)
He didn't ask her name, he didn't ask her why
He just handed her some hardtack as the column drifted by.
"My brother’s in that city too," he muttered with a sigh
"And I ain't gonna let a soul see that tear within your eye.
You just keep your rifle steady, you just keep your secret tight
We’re gonna find 'em both, little soldier, before the end of night!"
​(Verse 3)
So they march beneath the banners, through the smoke and through the heat
The German girl and the Tennessee boy, on their tired, aching feet.
One’s looking for a sailor, one’s looking for the gun
Two souls who won't be broken 'til the rescue has been won.
She’s a shadow in a tunic, he’s a guardian on the trail
Across the miles of ocean, they’re the wind within the sail.
Two different flags above them, but the blood is just the same
When you’re fighting for a brother, and you’re calling out his name.
​(Outro)
(The music fades to a quiet, lonely acoustic guitar melody. The pedal steel lets out one last, fading note.)
Berlin to the Smokies...
The road is long and wide...
But you've got a friend beside you...
With nowhere left to hide.
(Fade out)