Strike the Band

I have a shadow of a shadow of doubt in my heart
In like a lion and out like a lion again
Come what may, come what may in the eye of a storm
Charge the bray, hold the ballast of corn

Oh, play the marching drum
Strike the band and run
They don't know just how far you've come
Sing the ballad years
Stories wild and fierce
Every frame is everything you're from

I am a memory, nineteen-and-seventy-eight
I am a clarity, I don't believe in mistakes
Even so, even so I'd be harnessed in haste
Caged away, heard the water that breaks

Oh, play the marching drum
Strike the band and run
They don't know just how far you've come
Sing the ballad years
Stories wild and fierce
Every frame is everything you're from

Every pretender is quietly dreaming a dream
Playing a role like a serpent abandons a stream
Come what may, come what may oh beautiful baby
Shed a tear, keep a river at bay

Oh, play the marching drum
Strike the band and run
They don't know just how far you've come
Sing the ballad years
Stories wild and fierce
Every frame is everything you're from

Call away the last brigade as the ocean swells
They sing to themselves
They sing to themselves
Ring the bells of fortune as the final curtain falls
And wait for the applause

Wait for the applause