Ashes on Your Altar

Lyrics

Verse 1
You came with a smile and a sword
Paper crown
Little holy lord
Fire in your hands for the old stone rings
Chains for the dancers and the songs they would sing

You painted our grove as a grave
Called our mothers wicked
Called our fathers slaves
Buried our gods under chapters and ink
Told us to kneel down
Told us not to think

Chorus
So take your cross back over the sea
Your letters of love that taught us to bleed
Your kingdom of guilt built on bone and dirt
I light my own heart
And I curse your hurt
Ashes on your altar
Blown to the wind
I rise with the wolves
I won’t bow again (hey!)

Verse 2
Every wound you blessed
You first cut deep
Branded our children
Stole their sleep
You promised them heaven
But you fed them shame
Carved your commandments on their given names

You nailed your fear to our doors
Crowned your saints on the skulls of our wars
Said suffering sings in a sacred tongue
While you drank blood red from the throats of the young

Chorus
So take your cross back over the sea
Your letters of love that taught us to bleed
Your kingdom of guilt built on bone and dirt
I light my own heart
And I curse your hurt
Ashes on your altar
Blown to the wind
I rise with the wolves
I won’t bow again

Bridge
I call to the spirits you tried to erase (oh)
To the stone
To the storm
To the silent place
You wrote us as demons in your trembling hand
But we are the roots
And you are the sand

Chorus
So take your cross back over the sea
Your letters of love that taught us to bleed
Your kingdom of guilt built on bone and dirt
I tear your thin crown
From this haunted earth
Ashes on your altar
Blown to the wind
Old gods awaken
We won’t bow again (never)
Ashes on your altar
Scattered and gone
We march through the ruins
And sing our own song