CRYSTALLION LYRICS

1. The Ambush

Syria, Palestine: In the year of our Lord 1187. The territories occupied by the Latins under Guy of Lusignan,
King of Jerusalem and the united realms of the Ayyubids under Sultan Saladin were keeping an unstable truce.
Knowing that this truce could be broken by the pettiest trespass Lord Raynald of Chatillon, a confident of the King,
regularly attacked and plundered Muslim caravans.
These misdeeds driven by pride, hatred and greed provoked the single greatest catastrophe in the history of the crusades and sealed the beginning of the end of Christian reign in Outremer.
A reign based on faith, courage, honour and glory, carried throughout the land on blazing wings of thunder.

"In the year 1177 the Crusaders had defeated Saladin's forces at the Battle of Montgisard.
What ensued was a truce which was repeatedly broken by the Christian king's ally Raynald of Chatillon who attacked peaceful Muslim caravans without any obvious reason.
Longing for war he couldn't foresee that his actions would trigger the beginning of the end of the Christian dominance over the Holy Land. "

2. Wings Of Thunder

[Raynald of Chatillon]
Now the stars are shining
On my way
A sword of steel makes my day
Saladin the Great One
Bloody liar
Burn, burn, burn in fire

And we ride and we ride and we ride and we ride
For the glory, the king and the pride
Oh how we ride, my duty's calling me to seize the day

In the night we're searching
Lying in wait
Don't run away it's too late
Kill the Islam fever
Stop this lie
"Deus lo vult's" our battle cry

And I know and I know and I know you will go
Into the fire with your soul
Hungry for gold, regain what's good and right for heavens sake

On wings of thunder made of steel
We could fly away to the sky someday
Calling the god of victory
He will show us now in a dream somehow
That the evil among us we'll meet on the field
'Cause the truce that we've made our fall it has sealed
Why does no-one believe no-one open their eyes
Why does everyone trust in their lies

Now the knights are on my side again
We ride for glory, fame and pride, the end
Is near, we heed the call of duty
"Fight for heaven" that's our fate
Strike them down with your hate
Till death appears in all it's beauty
Like a screaming symphony
What a sweet melody

"When Raynald of Chatillon repeatedly plundered Muslim traders' caravans who relied on the uneasy truce of the early and mid 1180s, Saladin decided to assemble his army and venture a direct confrontation with the Crusaders in July 1187.
The shameful defeat at the Battle of Montgisard (1177) in mind, Saladin's forces began their march, determined to crush their Christian opponents once and for all."

3. Vanishing Glory

[Sultan Saladin]
Christian greed brings them death
My caravan's lost, I see
A rush of blood to my head - it's deafening me
Can't let them go, it's my duty, they died for me
It's Raynald's will, I don't know is this meant to be
There is no way out for me - it's killing me
My army shall rise, Christian downfall we'll see

They have reigned the Holy Land
Jerusalem in Christian hand
Shameful fields of Montgisard
Will the Sultan rise again
There's no doubt we will regain
Our old glory, we shall rise

After all - hear me scream, hear me scream
Battles taking their toll, open the gates

[Sultan Saladin's forces]
Now the war is at hand, we will regain our land
Our people and our Muslim faith we'll defend - To battle we ride
It's their final crusade
Our feud will be brought to an end here and now

[Sultan Saladin]
20000 Eastern men
Will bring back Jerusalem
No Knights Templar will remain
Under Saladin the Great
Muslim states retaliate
Guy of Lusignan will fall

One more time - hear me scream, hear me scream
Battles taking their toll, open the gates

[Sultan Saladin's forces]
Now the war is at hand, we will regain our land
Our people and our Muslim faith we'll defend - To battle we ride
It's their final crusade
Our feud will be brought to an end here and now

It's our destiny to fight
Christian hordes won't see the night
In the end, will we be right?
It's not us who want this war
One more battle, then no more
We will rule just like before

After all - hear me scream, hear me scream
Battles taking their toll, open the gates

[Sultan Saladin's forces]
Now the war is at hand, we will regain our land
Our people and our Muslim faith we'll defend - To battle we ride
It's their final crusade
Our feud will be brought to an end here and now

"To lure King Guy into moving his army out of the town of Sephoria, an oasis with indispensable water supplies, Saladin besieged Count Raymond's fortress of Tiberias on July 2nd.
The town was plundered and burned, while Raymond's wife remained besieged in the citadel. "

4. Under Siege

[Count Raymond III. of Tripoli]
In the distance far away there is my love
I could break these walls, my heart is strong enough
No, we cannot go, they wait for us to come
To storm the open fields below the desert sun
Tiberias is under the siege

[Citizens of Tiberias]
We are lost and need to fly
We're under siege
To rise up to the sky
We're under siege
Are we strong enough to die
for revolution
Let them hear our battle cry
We're under siege

[Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem]
Cry out, it's burning like a flame in the night
All you soldiers of the magical light
Obey my call we're getting ready to fight
March on, and follow me through fire and pain
We're outnumbered but we fight in HIS name
To free our city from the unholy reign

[Gerard of Ridefort, Grandmaster of the Knights Templar]
The fever of vengeance is burning my eyes
Beware of the count don't believe in his lies

[Chorus]

"The besieged fortress of Tiberias fell the same day and Guy, despite Raymonds argument that this was just what Saladin wanted, decided to move his troops out of Sephoria on July 3rd to face Saladin at Tiberias.
While Raymond had argued against this move, Gerard of Ridgeford and others had encouraged Guy to attack immediately.
Thus, the battle began..."

5. The Battle... Onward

[Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem]
Out of Sephoria
On July 3rd we are
The vanguard glorious
Our rearguard pray for us
We will reach Tiberias
Nine more painful miles, alas!

[The Christian army]
We will prevail (onward we go!!!)
Our glorious king we hail
Onward! The battlefield
Shall be our grave

[Count Raymond III. of Tripoli]
Our kingdom soon will fade
They say no man ever made
Such a distance in one day
Saladin is drawing near
Muslim warcries we can hear
Christian knights must show no fear

[Gerard of Ridefort, Grandmaster of the Knights Templar]
Till our last breath we march
The slaughter can begin
For our kingdom and for our king
Into battle our old hymns we sing
By the hawks, our infantry's pride
All for one and one for all!

[Count Raymond III. of Tripoli]
Our kingdom soon will fade
They say no man ever made
Such a distance in one day
Saladin is drawing near
Muslim warcries we can hear
Christian knights must show no fear

[Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem]
The time is near, it's crystal clear
No-one give in, no man we fear
Its time to fight, before the night
Will lay its coat upon this field

[Count Raymond III. of Tripoli]
Marching - Marching till the end of time
Can it be God's will?
Will we be burning for a senseless crime
Some wounds time won't heal

[Chorus]

"Saladin was watching every move the Crusaders made and realized that their decision to start heading for Tiberias after an already exhausting march over several miles could give his army the crucial edge which could determine the outcome of the battle.
Vested with their firm belief the Muslim forces tightend the noose around the Christians' necks."

6. The Battle... Higher Than The Sky

[Sultan Saladin]
Onward the Christians go
It's hard to believe that they did what I hoped for
They can't win this fight
It's Saracen sunrise, the Crusaders' sundown
They won't stand a chance
Attacked by brave men

Now their fate it is sealed
We will crush them they're damned for all time
At home they will tell them 'bout Saladin, all his glory and pride

[The Muslim army]
Hattin brings down the Crusaders
Muslims triumphant we will vanquish our foe
Charge after charge we will counter
Saladin's army in new glory shall rise
Forever we'll be - higher than the sky

[Sultan Saladin]
Cut off from water and blinded by fire
These noble knights, they defect out of fear
Telling their secrets, their dire situation
Facing his downfall, their king's gonna crawl

[The Muslim army]
Now we are the ones who will rule again
Saladin stands above all
We cannot forgive the Christian invaders
Who struggle to take our land

[The Muslim army]
Hattin brings down the crusaders
Muslims triumphant we will vanquish our foe
Charge after charge we will counter
Saladin's army in new glory shall rise
Forever we'll be

[The Muslim army]
Now we are the ones who will rule again
Saladin stands above all
We cannot forgive the Christian invaders
Who struggle to take our land

[The Muslim army]
Hattin brings down the Crusaders
Muslims triumphant we will vanquish our foe
Charge after charge we will counter
Saladin's army in new glory shall rise
Forever we'll be

[Sultan Saladin]
Rightful rulers of these lands
We've spilled too much blood
Our reign will be one based on faith in our God
Christian forces surrender, their final retreat
Is just hours ahead, they must face their defeat
Most of them slain, reinforcements they need
So their king must be wise and give in

"Guy's decision to take Saladin's bait and start heading for Tiberias proved to be a fatal mistake.
Saladin, who had expected that move, sent troops around the Crusader army, blocking their line of retreat and separating them from their water supplies.
Despite their fierce resistance the Crusaders finally had to face defeat.
While most of the Christian army met with death on July 4th on the fields of Hattin, some were captured and some could even flee to herald the news of the Saracen rising... "

7. The Battle... Saracen Ascension

[The Christian knights surrounded by the Saracen enemy]
Turan is lost, no retreat
The heathens we'll meet
Not one drop to drink
The spring without reach

Now surrounded by foes
On this damn plateau
This camp is no longer safe

Running out of supplies
Arrows go down
Blinded by smoke we march
Still we go on

[Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem]
Losing faith, our knights defecting - it's our kings disgrace

[The knights]
This battle is over - we're beaten and lost
There is nowhere to go
Crusaders defeated - the Holy Land's lost
Christians down on the ground

[Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem]
Raymond's charges in vain
There's nothing to gain
Cut off from the rest
Men and horses were slain

Defections in droves
The only ones brave
The knights of the orders alone

[The fleeing knights]
Not more than 3000 men we are
Who are fleeing the fields of death
Escape from the heathen's grasp
Led by count Raymond and Balian
Attacked by the blazing sun
We are on our way home

[Raymond II of Tripoli]
Charging on Saladin
Again and again
But it's all over now
When the tent falls

[The knights]
This battle is over - we're beaten and lost
There is no way to go
Crusaders defeated - the Holy Land's lost
Christians down on the ground

Saracen Ascension - our kingdom is gone
We are down on our knees
We will rise again - we will return
Beat them once and for all

"Only a small number of Crusaders survived the battle at the Horns of Hattin.
Those who didn't die or flee from the battlefield were captured, among them former King Guy of Lusignan, Gerard of Ridefort, Raynald of Chatillon and many others.
In the meantime, Richard I Lionheart, King of England, supported by the pope, was already preparing another crusade, swearing to regain the Holy Land for the sake of Christianity."

8. Preach With An Iron Tongue

[Gerard of Ridefort, Grandmaster of the Knights Templar]
Now the sun is sinking slowly
Away's the light
14.000 dead, no one survived?
All is lost, our troops defeated
I can't run and hide
Here I am, a prisoner in decay

But for all time I'll be your son
Let me preach with an iron tongue

Oh Lord can't you see
Your knights beheaded by the Saracen
What a shameful deed
And in my dreams
There is no pain
Soon the day will come to take revenge

To bring back the fields once won
Let me preach with an iron tongue

[Richard I, "Lionheart". King of England]
My call to arms arises slowly
Heeded throughout the land
To praise the Lord, the one and only
We hold HIS crown in hand
Over the sea on ships so strong
Another holy war
Jerusalem we'll bring you back to
To where you once belonged

The shore is near, Acre in sight
The fortress will not hold
A noble knight, I save your life
The ransom paid in gold
Their cities fall one by one
Back into Christian hand
By the fields of Arsuf we've won
Leaving thousands dead

[Sultan Saladin]
For now we must retreat, our forces failed
I don't know what went wrong
The "Lionheart" is too strong
Will this war never end

[Pope Gregory VIII.]
Kingdom of the brave, far beyond the sea
Men from England, Spain and France
Take the cross, deliverance for the
Master, not the slave, kings we'll always be
Seek redemption for your sins
And the realm of glory just begins

[Richard I., "Lionheart", King of England]
I tried to take revenge
The fields are littered with blood and stench
Jaffa, Acre, men and land
I wrest from the Sultan's hand
For the sake of heaven's light
Many fought and many died
If I can't reach Jerusalem
I'll turn away my eyes again

[Pope Clement III.]
My hail goes out to the strong and the bright
The Templars, the Hospitalers, the Teutonic Knights
Without whom everything is lost and undone
The soldiers of Christ preaching with an iron tongue

[Richard I., "Lionheart", King of England]
The King's crusade, at last a failure
So many brave men died
We sought revenge for the fields of Hattin
To leave the pain behind
I finalized for now a treaty
To make the peace a fact
And Saladin my noble enemy
Has launched his last attack

[Sultan Saladin]
And now the war is over, the "Lionheart" tamed
Jerusalem we hold
Under Muslim control
But they will come again

[Chorus]

[Retrospect:]

[Count Raymond III. of Tripoli]
All you Christian knights and soldiers
Who came from magic light
To lead you into battle
Has filled my heart with pride
HIS kingdom now awaits us
The angels choir sings
Hattin, it has shown us
What blinded hate can bring







CRYSTALLION LYRICS