My doctor told me that I wouldn’t

Make it through the night

My son told me that I shouldn’t

Give up without a fight

…

I said, “It is hopeless”, as I

Surrendered to my bed

I asked him to go outside and

Play with his friends instead

…

He didn’t want to go outside

He wanted to stay with me

He promised to keep me safe

As long as it could be

…

He shut the door, as it turned dark

Turned off all the lights

“Death couldn’t find you, Dad”, he said

“In the dark of the night”

…

He also shut the windows

Checked for monsters under the bed

If he ever found one

I’m sure he would slay them dead

…

He could tell I was worried

By the look upon my face

He began to tell me tales

Of God’s love and His grace

…

He talked and talked for hours

And finally fell asleep

Right next to me in my bed

Making my heart weep

…

The tiny fingers on his hand

Are now resting on my chest

I kiss him on his forehead

And wish him all the best

…

I feel so sorry for my little boy

I ain’t leaving behind much for him

I hope he finds his way around

My end is where he begins

…

May he grow up to be a fine man

And make his Daddy proud

There won’t be any star with my name

I’ll watch him from the clouds

…

The night has prepared itself

So quiet and serene

Death is ’round the corner

With her tambourine

…
Soon I’ll hear the sound of footsteps

And a grave knock on the door

In a moment, everything will change

Nothing will be like before

…

Though I do owe Death a favour

For all that she has done

Letting me have my last breath here

Away from all but one

…

And I couldn’t be grateful enough

To Death for keeping me warm

I’ll climb the stairs to heaven

While in my little boy’s arms

God must love me a lot
He picked up all the problems in the world
And put them in my heart
You say that’s not true?
All the problems are with you?
Well, God must love you too

Now, my soul I left with you
To make all the things you want come true
Our good ol’ days may be over
But we ought to create some new
…
A thousand miles away from home
Not for a moment I felt alone
You were always on my mind
While I was caught up in a storm
…
Now, my skin is getting older
And my bones are getting colder
It gets worse here every night
Will you lend me a shoulder?
…
Tell all our friends that I said hi
There’s still time for my goodbye
I may never ever be back
That doesn’t mean you have to cry
…
This letter I wrote for you
And this song I’ll sing for you
Always keep me in your heart
And may God be with you too

“Build, build, build,”
I ordered my red army
“Build me the most beautiful castle
The mightiest in the land
Like nobody has ever seen
Like nobody has ever dreamed
Like nobody ever will
Toil all day
Toil all night
Toil with thou hands
Toil with thou feet
Build, build, build”

…

And they set off
Tiny red men
Bricks and cement
Machines and men
New and good
Oiled and fooled
And everyone came to watch
Birds from the trees
Stars from the skies
Gods from the heavens
Everyone came to watch
Tiny red army
Working on
Building on
Singing songs

…

“Build, build, build,”
I ordered my red army
“The Gods are watching us
What will they think of us?
Push a little more
Imagine you are
In the midst of a war
And the queen is watching
The queen is waiting
You don’t want to keep her waiting, do you?
Push your bodies a little more
Let us go down in history
Let us go down in glory
Let them write about us
Let them read about us
Let them talk about us
For years and years to come
Do you see what is happening?
The birds are singing
The stars are shining
The Gods are smiling
They are on our side
They want us to build this
Build, build, build”

…

And they continued
Tiny red army
Tiny red men
Following my words
Each and every word
No words of their own
No utterances
No rebellion
No mutiny
And they dug, dug, dug
And they laid, laid, laid
And they worked, worked, worked
And the efforts showed
Ripe and juicy fruits
Growing from a seed
Almost ready to be plucked
And they worked, worked, worked

…

“Build, build, build,”
I ordered my red army
“We’re almost there
Slowly but steadily
We’re almost there
But do not begin to enjoy
Do not begin to relax
There’s still work to be done
There’s too much work to be done
We cannot afford to sit
We cannot afford to sleep
We cannot afford to waste any more time
The Gods are watching us
Build, build, build”

…

“We’re too tired,”
Cried a wisehead rebel
“We need some rest
It is for the best
We cannot work like this
We cannot build like this
We cannot go on like this
We haven’t slept for days
We haven’t smiled for days
Just a little rest will do
Just a little sleep will do
We’re not asking for anything more
I hope you forgive us
This is not rebellion
This is not an excuse
This is a plea
I know the Gods will forgive us too
We cannot build, build, build anymore”

…

“Build, build, build,”
I ordered my red army
“Enough with your silly talks
Enough with your silly excuses
I pay you handsomely
I pay you big
I pay you to work
I pay you to toil
I don’t pay you to talk
I don’t pay you to sleep
Now go resume your duty
And do not be disturbing me again
The castle is almost done
And once it is done
You can rest all you want
You can sleep all you want
You can smile all you want
Until then
Build, build, build”

…

And they continued
Working harder than ever before
Following my words
Each and every word
Bricks and cement
Machines and men
New and good
Oiled and fooled
All combining
To do what they should
Building a castle
Building a fortress
Building a home
To conquer the queen’s army
A fierce army
A dark army
An unbeaten army
Unbeatable army?
There’s always a first time
What’s the crime
In trying?

…

And finally the castle was built
Magnificient, glorious
Beautiful, incredible
A real masterpiece
A perfect place
To conquer the queen
And her army
The builders had built
Now I had to fight
Fight for what I stand
Fight for what is true
Fight for what is right

…

The queen put her feet
In my sacred land
But she was alone
Her army had not come
She hadn’t come to fight
She came to inspect
She came to check
She came to see
My castle
My truth
And me
But I was prepared
Or so I thought
I showed her my pride
My castle
My truth
And me
She looked at me bemused
She couldn’t hold back anymore
She began to laugh
Laugh out loud
Hysteria took over
And I just stood still
Time stood still
No explanations
Nothing
She just laughed and stepped away
Into the distance
Never to be seen again

…

I looked at my army
They looked back
A crying shame
A crying shame, indeed
Half of my army were dead
And the other half were halfway there
All because of a castle
A lame castle
A heart-breaker
Not so magnificient now
Not so beautiful now
What am I to do with it?
Am I destined to live with it forever?
Am I doomed?
I have to destroy it myself
And build it all again
I have no army for help
Perhaps it will wither with time
Stones may begin to crack
Do I see a crack already?
Am I losing my mind?
I have nothing left with me
Except time
Time is all I’ve got
Time to build a new castle
More beauty, more glamour
Better than before
But before that
I need to build an army
My red army
Mightier than before
Stronger than before
I’ve got a job on my hand
So I tell myself
“Build, build, build”

…

And the Gods asked
“Who are you building for?
The queen is gone
Forever gone
Never to come back
Left you alone
Leaving you behind
Leaving your castle behind
All your efforts have come to this
All your efforts have been wasted
Why do you want to build again?
Who are you building for?”

…

“I am building it for myself,”
I was quick to answer
“I am building it for love
There is always love
I am building it for hope
There is always hope
I am building for myself
For my red army
I cannot let them die like this
Die in vain
Die in futility
I must build again
For a better queen
For a more beautiful queen
I must build again
I may never find her
But I cannot lose what I have
I have hope
I have love
I have a heart
And as long as they are running
I’ll be running too
I’ll be building my castle again
I’ll be building my red army again
Don’t know who I’m building for
But I’ll be building my castle again
And again and again
Till I could build no more”

As long as there is mercy in that crown
I’ll plead for you
As long as there is blood in my veins
I’ll bleed for you
I’ll bleed for you

…

As long as there is hope in the air
I’ll pray for you
All day and all night
I’ll wait for you
I’ll wait for you

…

Any treasure in the world
I’d bring for you
All day and all night
I’d sing for you
I’d sing for you

…

Tell all the stars
To shine for you
Tell all the words
To rhyme for you
Tell all the rivers
To flow for you
Tell all the lights
To glow for you
To glow for you

…

Tell all the clouds
To cry for you
Tell all the birds
To fly for you
Tell all the mermaids
To sing for you
Tell all the bells
To ring for you
To ring for you

…

Tell all my veins
To bleed for you
Tell my heart
To bleed for you
Tell my soul
To bleed for you
Tell myself
To bleed for you
To bleed for you