Get all 13 Matt Steady releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Presence, Closer, New Buryin' Ground, The Echoes Remain (compilation), Nawglan, the Sacred Nine, Chasing Down Wolves, Here be Dragons, Echoes of Albion (on back order!), and 5 more.
1. |
Grist for the Mill
03:24
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You take our crops, and they burn our fields
You take the tithe and they loot the coin
You took our sons and you marched them to war
They took our daughters and sold them as slaves
You’re all living for power, for wealth and a name
We’re just trying to live
We’re just grist for the mill
Grist for the mill
‘Tween the hammer and the cross
The river keeps running
The wheel keeps on turning
The mill-stones keep grinding us down
We’re just grist for the mill
Don’t care much for kings, for priests or for lords
Don’t care who takes when there’s none left to give
You want our loyalty but what does that mean
When there’s been no harvest and no planting of seed
Hunger’s our enemy, a fight to the death
Without mercy or recourse or plea
We’re just grist for the mill
Grist for the mill
‘Tween the hammer and the cross
The river keeps running
The wheel keeps on turning
The mill-stones keep grinding us down
We’re just grist for the mill
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2. |
The Blacksmith
04:24
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The rhythm of the hammer is the meter of life
The glow of the metal and the trace of a spark
The flames in the furnace the joy in my veins
But the fire in my heart is you
The snow outside is falling
A shroud of silence on barren fields
There’s no birds in the air with the threat of a storm
But the sweat of the work is keeping me warm
And the thought of you is life
Always you
Oh those lazy nights I spend them with you
Heat of the forge becomes the warmth of the hearth
Drifting in the silence, you make it so easy
To escape from the drive of the flames
Remember what the hours are for
The air is tense with rumours and fear
So I’m melting down my work
I’m beating ploughshares to swords and shears into spears
As if metal could stave off hate and despair
Let the weak say I am strong
I’ll be strong for you
Always you
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3. |
Another Sky
06:00
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They came one cold November morn
Gleaming and glinting in the watery sun
The breath of their horses could have been dragon’s fire
Flags unfurled high above the mire
We watched them with our heads bowed low
Close as we dared, kneeling in the snow
Showing no interest, they looked neither left not right
Gods and heroes heading for some glorious fight
My father spat on the ground as he turned to me
An expression haunting his face that I’d never seen before
They’re no different to us, lad, no matter how much they beat you down
They were born into privilege and trained to fight from birth
But they’ve never fought the land, and never fought the cold
And it’s just by chance that they were born there and we were born here
Another day, another time, another sky
It could have been me, it could have been us
They came like a living stream
Hungry and blooded, eyes a silent scream
Flowing from the East, a trail of the damned
Heralding the coming of the Northmen to our land
We watched them as they begged for food
Helplessly we shrugged, what else could we do?
The little that we had we shared, just a drop in the rain
They might not be the lucky, the ones that remain
My father spat on the ground as he turned to me
An expression haunting his face that I’d never seen before
They’re no different to us, lad, no matter how much you think they are
You were born into family and you’ve been loved from birth
You’ve never felt the whip and never seen the blade
And it’s just by chance that they were born there and we were born here
Another day, another time, another sky
It could have been you, it could have been us
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4. |
Keep the Fire Burning
06:18
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It’s been nearly twenty years since we were wed
And we’ve never spent a night apart
You’re the first face I see each morning
It’s as if we share one heart
Goodbye my love, goodbye my love
Keep the fire burning, say a prayer for me
I’ll be home before you know, I’ll be home before you know
I’ve never seen the need to leave your side
I’ve never been beyond these few farms
But when our lord calls the muster, we must answer
I must leave and pick up my arms
Goodbye my love, goodbye my love
Keep the fire burning, say a prayer for me
I’ll be home before you know, I’ll be home before you know
I won’t be going alone along this path
My brother will be marching by my side
We’ll be there for each other, I promise you
Back to back we will fight
Goodbye my love, goodbye my love
Keep the fire burning, say a prayer for me
I’ll be home before you know, I’ll be home before you know
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5. |
The Waiting
02:54
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Who’m I gonna be when the sun goes down?
What am I gonna do when they come for us?
Will I run or will I hide
Or will I fight with tears in my eyes?
Will I curse or will I pray?
Will I freeze, or seize the day?
Who’m I gonna be when the sun goes down?
Who’m I gonna be when the sun goes down?
What’m I gonna do when the moment comes?
On my feet or on my knees
Will I rise or will I fall?
Will I live or will I die?
Will I live or just survive?
Who’m I gonna be when the sun goes down?
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6. |
First Skirmish
03:10
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Hearts are racing
Palms are damp
Churning inside
But I’m feeling alive
Here we come
Over the hill
Hammering on our shields
And I’m feeling alive
And the shield wall held
And the foemen fell
And the joy of the battle was fierce
And our hearts were wild
Panic and fear
Terror and dread
My luck’s held out for the first few men
As I block and thrust again and again
The rhythm of the hammer is the meter of life
The glint of the metal and trace of a spark
The flames in the furnace the joy in my veins
And I’m feeling alive
And the shield wall held
And the foemen fell
And the joy of the battle was fierce
And our hearts were wild
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7. |
The Old Songs
03:08
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He played the old songs from before we were born
Tales full of laughter and ballads we mourn
Songs near forgotten and songs we knew well
Songs with a history and songs with a tale
With a smile on his face and a tear in his eye
He sang the old songs till the end of the night
He brought out the songs that most left behind
Beautifully aged and weathered by time
We’re nought without roots, just floating adrift
But his memory was keen and his bowing was swift
With a smile on his face and a tear in his eye
He sang the old songs till the end of the night
Separate we came, together we left
Cheering the heroes, the weak and oppressed
Music unites us in passion and song
He wove us together and made us belong
With a smile on our faces and tears in our eyes
We sang the old songs till the end of the night
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8. |
The Battle of Maldon
02:24
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We boast of our courage when tempered with mead
In our halls we are heroes, famed for our might
They’ve cut down our lord, an earl on the earth
Now we have a choice, to stand or take flight
My line is from Mercia, I’ll take up the fight
Here we stand, and we will not move
We’ll defend our homeland in the name of our Lord
Though you could be bought with silver and gold
We’ll give you tribute of spears and sword
Dying in battle will be your reward
I give you my promise, that I will not flee
I will not be shamed upon my return
We shall avenge the fall of our friend
And take up our weapons, both point and iron
Steadfastly fighting, with anger I burn
Here we stand, and we will not move
We’ll defend our homeland in the name of our Lord
Though you could be bought with silver and gold
We’ll give you tribute of spears and sword
Dying in battle will be your reward
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9. |
Aftermath
03:55
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10. |
Homecoming
04:44
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The abyss of unknowing
How can we mourn when you're not there?
Our hope is the keenest edge
The missing grave so hard to bear
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11. |
Long Road Home
03:57
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What if I told you
You could find your way back?
That sometimes a person can change?
There’s a light in the window
We’re holding out hope
Don’t matter how long it burns
But remember this
The farther you go
The harder it is to turn
It’s a longer path back than the way that you came
Taking the long road home
I know that you’re out there
So many miles away
I believe you can hear my voice
My love is a beacon guiding your path
Just follow the long road home
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12. |
Memories
05:03
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I stoke up the fire, and stare beyond the flames
A chill in my heart, that the warmth can’t drive away
What-ifs and maybes, the guilt and the shame uneasily joust in my thoughts
Family and love, honour and pride, the churn of a life how heavy it weighs
A knock at the door when none should be abroad
At this time of night, only trouble stalks the land
The lightning cracks and the thunder rolls, like a scene from the tale of a bard
I pad to the door and nervously crack it open, and there you stand
These bones may be old, but there’s a fire in our soul
Though we may not match up, to the power of our youths
We’ve grown along the way
Certainties melt like snow
Wisdom is questions, life is questions
I still can’t believe that you’ve finally found a way home
The night was dark, and you’d wandered all alone
Missing in action, we’d left you for dead, we’d mourned you with a song
White as a ghost, with faraway eyes, you stood there cold as a stone
I’ll stoke up the fire and we’ll talk of days gone by
Those glory days spent in old campaigns
Memories burnished by time, they glow with the years
History reaches out it’s bony hands and takes the reins
These bones may be old, but there’s a fire in our soul
Though we may not match up, to the power of our youths
We’ve grown along the way
Certainties melt like snow
Wisdom is questions, life is questions
I’ll stoke up the fire and we’ll talk of days gone by
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Matt Steady Leicester, UK
I'm an independent musician from Leicester, England. Epic Guitar Instrumentals at your service.
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