Forever Side by Side

[Intro] [Verse] The dust settles on the gravel road we walked barefoot Where the ancient oak still bears the notches of our height You carried the weight when my spirit broke like brittle wood Steadying the compass through the long and hollow night We shared the crust of bread and the bitter draft of time [Verse] Now the miles stretch out like frayed wires across the plains But the blood we claim is thicker than the ink on any page I see your silhouette in the tilting of the heavy rains A silent witness to the turning of this weary age No wall could hold the fire that we kindled in the frost [Chorus] Bound by the iron chain of a promise never spoken aloud Forged in the furnace of the years that tried to bend our frame Walking through the shadows of the tall and faceless crowd Calling out the memory that flickers like a dying flame You are the anchor in the shifting tide of common men [Chorus] Bound by the iron chain of a promise never spoken aloud Forged in the furnace of the years that tried to bend our frame Walking through the shadows of the tall and faceless crowd Calling out the memory that flickers like a dying flame You are the anchor in the shifting tide of common men [Bridge] The seasons turn their backs on the heroes of the small towns The monuments crumble and the rivers find a different bed But the loyalty we sowed is a harvest that never browns Keeping us upright while the heavy clouds hang overhead Side by side against the gale until the final candle burns [Verse] I recall the winter when the mercury dropped out of sight And you gave your coat to shield me from the biting air There is a sanctuary found within the darkest light Knowing that the burden is a cross we always share The map is torn but the destination remains the same [Verse] So let the world spin on its axis of greed and vanity We have a shelter built of stones that no storm can displace In this house of kinship lives the only true sanity Reflected in the lines etched deep upon your honest face Brothers and sisters under the watch of a nameless sky [Chorus] Bound by the iron chain of a promise never spoken aloud Forged in the furnace of the years that tried to bend our frame Walking through the shadows of the tall and faceless crowd Calling out the memory that flickers like a dying flame You are the anchor in the shifting tide of common men [Chorus] Bound by the iron chain of a promise never spoken aloud Forged in the furnace of the years that tried to bend our frame Walking through the shadows of the tall and faceless crowd Calling out the memory that flickers like a dying flame You are the anchor in the shifting tide of common men [Outro]