Ballad of the Old Lieutenant

[Verse 1]
Dust on the trail
Smoke in the sky
Word rode in at sundown
"They’re comin’, we’ll all die"
Black coats on the ridgeline
Cold steel in their hands
That Vast Gunner army
Rollin’ over this land

[Pre-Chorus]
Mamas pulled the children close
Farmers grabbed their rusted guns
Someone whispered through the hush
"Pray to God that help will come"

[Chorus]
Then the Old Lieutenant rode in slow
Small band of Minutemen in tow
Hat pulled low, eyes hard as stone
Said, "You ain’t gonna face this on your own"
When the wild world turned to war that day
He drew that line and chose to stay
Outnumbered but he never backed away
That Old Lieutenant saved the day

[Verse 2]
Captain Lamont
Smiled mean and wide
Shouted from his saddle
"Run now or you’ll die"
But the Old Man answered
Voice rough, quiet, clear
"These folks are under my watch
You want ‘em, you come here"

[Pre-Chorus]
Fences turned to barricades
Church bells rang a warning cry
Minutemen took up their stands
Ready there to bleed and die

[Chorus]

[Bridge]
Smoke and thunder
Fire and fear
But those few stood
And they held right here
When the dust lifted
And the echoes ran
Gunners broke and scattered
At the will of a handful of men

[Chorus]

[Outro]
Sunrise on the main street
Boot prints in the clay
A weathered hat on a white cross
By the gate where children play
They still tell the story
Where the grain fields sway
How a Small Company of Minutemen
And an Old Lieutenant stayed