Last Hope Capital

[Verse 1]
Raider scum on the ridge
Burnin' down the grain
Take what little we got
Leave the rest in pain

Old settler hit the road
With a tin cup and a prayer
Said if hope still has a seat
Maybe it lives in there

[Pre-Chorus]
Past the busted guard gate
Past the papers and the flags
He kept his boots movin'
With a sack full of scraps

He said, "I've seen the border
I've seen the ruin line
If anybody can save us
It's the folks inside"

[Chorus]
Last hope, capital
Last hope, capital
One old man
And a long, hard road
Last hope, capital
Last hope, capital
Bring our fear
Back home whole

[Verse 2]
In the fancy hall
With the polished floor
The President leaned back
Like he'd seen wars before

Maps on the table
Names to be claimed
Talkin' 'bout the next town
Like it already had his name

[Pre-Chorus]
The old man stood there silent
Mud still on his coat
While the rich room turned colder
At the words he spoke

"Out where the smoke keeps risin'
We don't need a crown
We need a wall of mercy
Or the whole thing drowns"

[Chorus]
Last hope, capital
Last hope, capital
One old man
And a long, hard road
Last hope, capital
Last hope, capital
Bring our fear
Back home whole

[Bridge]
He laid that broken ledger
On the gold-lit desk
Names of the lost ones
Pressed in each rough crested speck

And the hall went quiet
When the President heard
That a hungry little settlement
Can outlive a word

[Final Chorus]
Last hope, capital
Last hope, capital
Don't trade our lives
For another road
Last hope, capital
Last hope, capital
Choose to heal
Or let it go

Last hope, capital
Last hope, capital
One old man
And a long, hard road
Last hope, capital
Last hope, capital
Bring our fear
Back home whole