CHRISTOPHER LEE LYRICS

1. The Portent

The signs were there, whereever I looked, only I could not see them...
Obscured by my zeal, by my beliefs, each and every one was a marker
Of my destiny as the chosen one - As defender of Faith and the leader of men.
But it all came at a great price, as all great kings, I became a great killer - Lombardi, Verden, Roncevaux Pass...
It all ended in death and destruction!
These were Omens

The Omens of Death!

2. Charles The Great

Einhard gather near... come hither to my bedside
The hour that I must retire is drawing ever near
From the exigencies of this life
My deeds laid out before your eyes
And my conscience must be clear.

Charles my dear son the time has now come
The House of Arnulf had produced the heir and son
To lead the faithless where we are all waiting for you now
In the eternal kingdom where we at last are one.

Finally you can look back upon your many great deeds
Like your fathers before you have been planted the seeds
The consummation of your ancestors' ambitions
The founding of a great empire of Christian nations.

Father, this oath I swear that I shall fight to keep the Lord
In all of Francia and beyond
To heathen fields and Saxon hordes
Who would tread upon a sacred place of ours?
Shall learn to fear the name of Charlemagne
One that will be without peer even long after I have gone

Charlemagne, oh Charlemagne
A shaft of light in a Dark Age
For now he is the King of the Franks
Standing tall above men of all ranks
Homage and tribute to him will pay
And all his enemies shall be cast away
'Cause now he has inherited the throne
The young prince who soon came into his own.

Carloman, my dear brother, we grew apart
But my love for you did not depart.
You let the plotters turn your head against me

And then... oh father! Now he is dead...
How his widow and children weep by his bed
Now I am ruler of all your empire
And I am... alone in the adventure
But you came to me, father,
I feel not on my own
And guided me on my sword
As sure as on my throne.

And now you are being besieged by the Saracen,
But holding firm are the Christian Kings of Spain
The Frankish might pushed them back south
'Cross the mountains to form the Spanish March.

And what of the other pagan tribes
Who disrespected His Holy See?
They knelt before him and gave back that
Which they had taken from The Holy City.

3. The Siege

My Lord King Charles
A state of crisis has emerged
For you've incurred the wrath
Of the Lombard King
Desiderius

Cast his daughter aside
And took another for your wife
He has taken offence
And it's too late to make amends

Our papal lands
Have been occupied by force
And fallen to the hands
Of the barbarian horde

For too long that vile race
Has remained a threat
To papal authority
That scheming Lombard King
Is flouting his debt wilfully

We must stand up and wage war
This has gone on for too long
It's in all of our interests to subdue them
Once and for all

My Lord and Holy Father
This I pledge to thee
Like my fathers before me
I shall fight for the Holy City

My Lord and Holy Father
I pledge thee my loyalty
I shall see this Holy City
Restored to its former glory

It has been three hundred years
Since 'cross the Alps came
Those faithless lepers
To usurp the lands
Of their peace-loving neighbours

Encroaching closer upon Rome
Their leaders wanted to
Capture it for their own
And now King Desiderius
Has started to harass us

Your father was a champion of the Church
An agent of civilisation in the western world
Chosen to lead the people to the cross

The time is once more upon us
To look to our old friends
As your fathers before you
Came to our defence

And you are/I a am the chosen one
To lead the faithless to the cross
In His Empire in the west
O'er the Lord's flock you/I keep the watch

And with the authority vested in me
I shall claim the Iron Crown of Lombardy

Come springtime

The last of the alpine blasts had blown
The franks are still encamped
By the banks of the river Po

The son of Desiderius to
Byzantium had flown

The banks of the river Po
Are swelled by the melting snows

4. Massacre Of The Saxons

Does a man have to fight all his life?
Only in death to take flight to the skies
Warmongers vie to take my throne
No respect is ever shown

To Pope, or Prince, nor man, nor beast
And steal our cattle for to feast
No Earthly princeling mind shall take
For scandalous idolatry so fake

In borderland raids
They came in their hordes
Ransacking villages
Taking the spoils
With nothing to lose
and possessions few
Bold
Sturdy
Fearless and cruel!

Defiant of Baptism on pain of death
Tough measures call for me to be ruthless
To set an example to the rebels
Draconian for their worship of devils

How many times did I venture forth
To the extreme wilderness of the north?
To subdue those whose hatred was great
Against churches and priests of our Christian state

Four thousand men all dead in one day
They would not renounce their heathen ways
Thirty years of campaigning consumed
To subject those Pagans to Christianhood

The Bloody Verdict of Verden
Rivers flowing red
With the blood of four thousand men
That I did behead

(I shed Blood of Saxon Men)
I shed the Blood of the Saxon men
I shed the Blood of the Saxon men
I shed the Blood of the Saxon men
I shed it at Verden
I shed the Blood of the Saxon men
I shed the Blood of four thousand Saxon men
I shed the Blood of the Saxon men
I shed the Blood of the Saxon man!

Shall my realm be taken as I toil?
To force others out of Frankish soil
And I return to learn that all is lost
Yet my companions I trust, the sword and the Cross

Those good industrious Frankish folk
Who toil out lands with oxen and yoke
Whilst Lombard, Vulgar and Moorish men
Dare to even glance at them

Converting entire tribes by the sword
In the name of Jesus Christo, our Lord
On that day in Verden
No mercy given
Victory to the chosen people

Weary grow I of this task which fell
On the shoulders of a man who yearns to spend
But one hour with wife and child
To gaze on faces innocent and mild

Four thousand men all dead in one day
They would not renounce their heathen ways
Thirty years of campaigning consumed
To subject those pagans to Christianhood

To build a better world than even has been seen
An empire made great by deeds of great kings

(I shed Blood of Saxon Men)
I shed the Blood of the Saxon men
I shed the Blood of the Saxon men
I shed the Blood of the Saxon men
I shed it at Verden
I shed the Blood of the Saxon men
I shed the Blood of four thousand Saxon men
I shed the Blood of the Saxon men
I shed the Blood of the Saxon man!

5. Dawning Of A New Age

The time has come
Fortune and my reign will shine
Like the starts in the sky
Over lands and the sea

Your power is assured
You are king oh Charlemagne
To fight for the right to conquer
And vanquish your foes

Come, let's drink to the time
When peace and the sun will shine
And the world will be, as one, forever

My destiny
Rides out before me
Like a cloud in the sky
It travels afar

All men shall pay thee
The homage and dues to come
To prepare the way
For a better world

Charlemagne, Charlemagne
Charlemagne, your kingdoms
Are there for all to see
The power and the glory are your destiny
The dawning of a new age
Will shine just like a star
Yours will be a world of lands
Both here now and afar

No castle, no keep, nor wall
Shall stand in my way, now
No river too deep to be crossed
No ocean too wide

The light of your star
Shall never fade nor die
Your time has come
You are king of all you survey

Charlemagne, Charlemagne
Charlemagne

6. Let Legend Mark Me As The King

When I pass from this world to the next
When I am laid and my soul is put to rest
My legacy will be there for all to see
For how long after I am gone will my deeds outlive me?

The apostle says we must all appear before our Christ
To judge my place in the world, the way I framed my life
'Tis a fearful thing to fall into god's hands
Only he who repents shall pass into the heavenly lands

When all the deeds of my life are played before my eyes
Will what I see come as a great surprise?

Life is short the hour of death uncertain
I must confess my sins before they draw the final curtain

Will I be remembered for my victories small and great
The glory of the Christian name I sought to disseminate?

Let legend mark me as the king
Of whom future generations will sing

Cast me not in my old age
When my will and strength doth fail
Forsake me not 'til I show forth Thy arm
To all the ages that are yet to come

All in time shall be revealed
When all is done my fate is sealed
In manus Tuas, Domine
Et anima mea quam redemisti

And will the Golden Age of Charlemagne
Glow more brightly long after my reign?
When all the battles have been lost and won

Will this warrior king in memory still live on?

It was with the sword I overcame my assailants
Those heathen hordes for whom menaces, gifts and presents
Seemed to speak louder than arguments and reason
I did what I had to, to spread the true religion

Was the terror of extreme punishment as a means
To enforce observance of the doctrines of peace?
There were of course moments I desired to surrender

My crown, robes, royal hoard and my holy scepter
Sometimes I wondered why
I could not retire from this world

To the peace of a monastic cell
Or a pilgrim to the road

7. The Betrayal

In the midst of the vigorous and uninterrupted struggles with the Saxons
Charlemagne built garrisons at strategic points to protect his territories from further attacks
He then mustered all available forces in order to thwart the greatest threat to Papal lands

Men! I have summoned you
Here to aid our brothers in
Their struggle against the Saracens!

We must, at any cost, liberate
These lands in order to protect
Our realm from the imminent
Threat of their insurgency!

The Frankish troops then
Marched over the Pyrenees
Into Iberia

Once in Iberia, Charlemagne
Calls upon the twelve peers
His bravest knights
He then instructs
Them to command all attacks
Against the enemy

At the raising of my sword
"Joyeuse", show the enemy
No mercy until they lay down
Their arms and surrender!

Gloria in Excelsis Deo!

Vivat Francia!

Vivat Rex Charlemagne!

All the towns and castles that
The mighty Frankish army
Attacked, surrendered

Charlemagne's forces
Suffered virtually no losses

But, on their long journey
Back through the Pyrenees...

It is the Gascons!

They are attacking our flanks!

They have betrayed us!!!

8. The Devil's Advocate

We'll die for our king
We'll die for our king
And our swords will be stained
By their blood, by their blood

Roland, bring their chief to me
Gather your men and we will see
Who is the leader that dares to fight?
To sleigh and maim against our might
Trust us lord that you will see
This traitor in hell for eternity
Trust us lord and time will tell
He'll burn again in hell

Go with god my valiant men
We'll seek the fox in the darkest den
Go with god
He will guide and lead the fight

Ha, the knights so brave are here
They think we're weak and shake with fear
You knights, you think your blood won't spill
We'll thrust and thrust our blades and kill

We're not here to fight, we come in peace
Our king Charlemagne does request
Your leader would wish to speak with him
To hear our lord's need to know why

Not here to fight, just wait
Right now you cowards
Our leader comes, we see him now
Approaching on his horse

Charlemagne...
You're king no more...
We'll crush your bones by rock and stones
We'll tear you limb from limb
We'll pluck your heart and break it apart
And fill our cups with your blood to the rim

I should have known, no other power
Would have betrayed our god
There could only be one
He is darkness...
He is death...
He is the devil...

Ha, ha, ha, ha, haaa...
Charlemagne, you're not immortal like me
We'll whip you like a dog
Till your blood runs like rivers
In flood, flood, flood...

We fear you... never
We'll fight to the death for honour
And our swords will be stained
By your blood... forever

9. The Ultimate Sacrifice

They came without warning
They destroyed our rear guard

The end will still be upon us
But we'll stand and fight real hard

The threat of death
The threat of death
We shall have no fear

The threat of death
The threat of death
The time, the hour is here

Our mighty Christian Lands
Are under dire threat
If they kill the chosen one
Our empire no longer will be left

Francia needs a leader
For our Lord Charlemgne we fight
We'll sacrifice our lives for him
And resist with all our might

Paladins, Paladins
Together we raise our swords
Paladins, Paladins
Lightning, steel and more

For years we stood together
Fighting back to back
Now what is it you ask me?

That I run away and hide

Death I am not afraid of
But I do not understand
Francia needs their King now
Not just an epitaph

He must escape the carnage
He must stay alive
We'll cleave a pathway for him
To safety he will ride

Paladins, Paladins
Our name imparts fear
Paladins, Paladins
Death draws ever near

If they want to rule us
Charlemagne they must kill
We'll defend this reign together
We know it is God's will

No mortal man could have wished for
So brave and trustful Knights
They fought and gave their lives
For me and our empire
In death they made
The ultimate sacrifice.

10. Judgement Day

The wars have ended
The people have been raised
From the dark ages of ignorance and chaos
To a new world of enlightenment
But what if there is no God, no afterlife
Only dusk and Darkness...







CHRISTOPHER LEE LYRICS