Post by Barr Tulip on Dec 2, 2013 21:19:07 GMT -5
This song is a hymn to remember the dead, and tells the story of a failed Cheltian assault on a Gralan mountain settlement. The chorus and usual title quote the battle cry of the enemy's greatest warriors: Kole Jio Abbag No, Skoecks Ha-te.
Birn marched up that frozen mount
Barr led them, in great array,
Though knowing not the loss they'd count,
The number destined there to stay.
Kole Jio Abbag No,
Came the evil battle cry,
Kole Jio Abbag No,
So they sang as our men died.
Young, fresh-faced, without a care,
Or Cheltians wiser, older;
All would this fatal cost bear,
Like many steers to laughter.
Kole Jio Abbag No,
Came the evil battle cry,
Kole Jio Abbag No,
So they sang as our men died.
For some it was glory sought,
For others, duty, bread or wine;
For such reasons they had fought
When the weather had been fine.
Kole Jio Abbag No,
Came the evil battle cry,
Kole Jio Abbag No,
So they sang as our men died.
The snow-tipped peak was their aim,
For 'cross it lay prosperity;
But out the cold came the fierce flame
Of northern barbarity.
Kole Jio Abbag No,
Came the evil battle cry,
Kole Jio Abbag No,
So they sang as our men died.
They reached the crest and spied her:
Greyham Pass, Gate to the Plains.
If they had turned and left her,
They'd have known life and not pain.
Kole Jio Abbag No,
Came the evil battle cry,
Kole Jio Abbag No,
So they sang as our men died.
Up they sprang and battle met,
Their shots and prayers filled the air.
All seemed well, with no great threat:
In fact they entered the snare.
Kole Jio Abbag No,
Came the evil battle cry,
Kole Jio Abbag No,
So they sang as our men died.
The call was loud, cadence strong,
The spell was drawn up from hell.
Their mages began the song
That sounded as a grim knell.
Kole Jio Abbag No,
Came the evil battle cry,
Kole Jio Abbag No,
So they sang as our men died.
The fire coursed through their veins,
Soon torn apart, limb from limb.
It shattered their fragile brains,
Ground them down to dust and skin.
Kole Jio Abbag No,
Came the evil battle cry,
Kole Jio Abbag No,
So they sang as our men died.
I was there to see the sight,
Ran away to sing this tune,
To tell of that northern blight,
Under ever-watchful Moon.
Kole Jio Abbag No,
Came the evil battle cry,
Kole Jio Abbag No,
So they sang as our men died.
Remember heroes long past,
Seek out their shades on the ground:
We'll all join them, slow or fast,
Final chorus, last known sound.
Kole Jio Abbag No,
Came the evil battle cry,
Kole Jio Abbag No,
So they sang as our men died.
Barr led them, in great array,
Though knowing not the loss they'd count,
The number destined there to stay.
Kole Jio Abbag No,
Came the evil battle cry,
Kole Jio Abbag No,
So they sang as our men died.
Young, fresh-faced, without a care,
Or Cheltians wiser, older;
All would this fatal cost bear,
Like many steers to laughter.
Kole Jio Abbag No,
Came the evil battle cry,
Kole Jio Abbag No,
So they sang as our men died.
For some it was glory sought,
For others, duty, bread or wine;
For such reasons they had fought
When the weather had been fine.
Kole Jio Abbag No,
Came the evil battle cry,
Kole Jio Abbag No,
So they sang as our men died.
The snow-tipped peak was their aim,
For 'cross it lay prosperity;
But out the cold came the fierce flame
Of northern barbarity.
Kole Jio Abbag No,
Came the evil battle cry,
Kole Jio Abbag No,
So they sang as our men died.
They reached the crest and spied her:
Greyham Pass, Gate to the Plains.
If they had turned and left her,
They'd have known life and not pain.
Kole Jio Abbag No,
Came the evil battle cry,
Kole Jio Abbag No,
So they sang as our men died.
Up they sprang and battle met,
Their shots and prayers filled the air.
All seemed well, with no great threat:
In fact they entered the snare.
Kole Jio Abbag No,
Came the evil battle cry,
Kole Jio Abbag No,
So they sang as our men died.
The call was loud, cadence strong,
The spell was drawn up from hell.
Their mages began the song
That sounded as a grim knell.
Kole Jio Abbag No,
Came the evil battle cry,
Kole Jio Abbag No,
So they sang as our men died.
The fire coursed through their veins,
Soon torn apart, limb from limb.
It shattered their fragile brains,
Ground them down to dust and skin.
Kole Jio Abbag No,
Came the evil battle cry,
Kole Jio Abbag No,
So they sang as our men died.
I was there to see the sight,
Ran away to sing this tune,
To tell of that northern blight,
Under ever-watchful Moon.
Kole Jio Abbag No,
Came the evil battle cry,
Kole Jio Abbag No,
So they sang as our men died.
Remember heroes long past,
Seek out their shades on the ground:
We'll all join them, slow or fast,
Final chorus, last known sound.
Kole Jio Abbag No,
Came the evil battle cry,
Kole Jio Abbag No,
So they sang as our men died.