Covenant Over Kin

Lyrics

Verse 1 – Voice A (slow, soft)
You say blood
Like it’s sacred law
But they left
When my hands were raw
You were there
With an open door
Shared your crust
Like it weighed much more

[Verse 1 – Voice B (faster, playful, overlapping)]
Look at all these empty chairs
Name tags
Tangled family prayers
Smile wide
Sharpened teeth
Blessed lips hiding grief
Shake my hand
Count the rings
Hollow hugs and petty kings
Feast and gossip
Wine and spit
Every halo’s counterfeit (hey)

[Chorus – Both
Overlapping]
Voice A (slow):
Blood is thinner than you think
Runs cold
When you’re on the brink
I was born
Into their room
But I was chosen
Out of the gloom

Voice B (fast, weaving around):
One real rider beats five hundred names
Keeps my secrets
Laughs at my shame
Sign in sweat
Not in crowded rooms
I’ll take covenant over kin
Over kin
Over tombs

Verse 2 – Voice A (slow, soft)
Quiet fire
In a circle of stone
We cut palms
And we carve our own
Not a cross
But a crooked line
Your rough hand
Locked into mine

[Verse 2 – Voice B (fast, brighter, overlapping)]
Bless the branch
Curse the root
Sweet talk
Poisoned fruit
Sunday say they’re on my side
Monday sharpen up their knives
Paper saints with paper crowns
Watch me bleed
Then look down
You just laughed
Broke the spell
Said
“Who needs their brittle hell?” (oh)

[Chorus – Both
More intense overlap]
Voice A (slow):
Blood is thinner than you think
Spills quick
When the ship will sink
I was born
In a borrowed womb
But I was chosen
Out of the gloom

Voice B (fast, counterline):
I’ll drink deep from the darker well
Shared scars
Secrets we won’t tell
One warm shoulder
When the sky turns black
Beats a thousand faces
That never look back

[Bridge – Both
Braided]
Voice A (slow, chantlike):
Call me brother
’cause you stayed
When the sky
Went iron grey
You stitched
My shaking name
Into yours
Into your flame

Voice B (fast, circling):
Let them count their ancient ties
Old hymns
Fresh lies
We made vows in smoke and skin
Outside walls they keep you in
If the world draws battle lines
I stand loud
You stand behind
Not by blood
But by what we’ve been through

[Final Chorus – Both
Lock into unison at end]
Voice A (slow):
Blood is thinner than you think
Voice B (fast):
Watch it wash right down the sink
Voice A:
I was born
To a stranger’s tune
Voice B:
I was reborn with you
One June

Both together (unison, strong):
The blood of the promise
Cuts clear and clean
Stronger than names
And the spaces between
One friend standing
When the rest walk out
Is my only family now
(my only family now)