THE RIVERS KNOW OUR NAMES

A single note across the snow
Where ancient rivers run below

At dawn the temple bells awake
A red sun climbs the mountain gate
Your wooden sandals cross the stone
You take the road, but not alone
A paper charm, a folded map
The wind pulls hard against your back
The old master said, “When storms arise,
Keep truth unsheathed behind your eyes”

Past bamboo groves, through winter rain
We carry names the years can’t chain

Knives and swords beneath the sky
Two bright vows as clouds roll by
Whoa-oh-oh, we rise, we rise
With the mountain wind alive
Knives and swords, our spirits sworn
From the ashes, we are reborn
Whoa-oh-oh, toward the light
We ride till wrong is answered right

At Jade Pass, the banners streamed
A warlord bought the throne he dreamed
You saw the villagers’ doors barred
And heard the young ones crying hard
No glory in a cruel man’s reign
No honor in another’s pain
You faced his ranks beneath the pines
While moonlight silvered sharpened lines

One steady breath, one measured stride
The heart stays clear when blades collide

Knives and swords beneath the sky
Two bright vows as clouds roll by
Whoa-oh-oh, we rise, we rise
With the mountain wind alive
Knives and swords, our spirits sworn
From the ashes, we are reborn
Whoa-oh-oh, toward the light
We ride till wrong is answered right

The duel is done; the drums fall still
The dawn pours gold across the hill
You lay your weapon by the spring
And hear the first wild songbirds sing
The road ahead is wide and strange
A life of mercy, hard to claim
But every village, every name
Will know that courage can change fate

Knives and swords beneath the sky
Now a thousand banners fly
Whoa-oh-oh, we rise, we rise
Let the old fear fall behind
Knives and swords, our spirits sworn
Through the darkest night, reborn
Whoa-oh-oh, toward the light
We ride, we ride, we ride!

When mountain shadows meet the sun
The road goes on; the vow lives on