No Crown In The Cold

No crown up here.
No throne in the storm.
Just hands.
Just weight.
Just who carries who.
Cold don't kneel
and the snow don't clap
No red carpet
where the black boots crack
I seen men with titles
fold in the sleet
While a welder with frostbite
kept men on their feet
Riggers on rope
loggers on chain
Drivers in ice
with a white knuckled lane
Soldiers in mud
medics in smoke
Mothers with bills
and a back nearly broke
That's who built
what the rich men claim
They sign their names
on another man's pain
They call it order
They call it law
But I seen crowns shine
with blood in the flaws
I don't bow
I don't beg
I don't kiss rings
I don't break bread
With soft hand kings
who sell hard lives
No crown survives
where the cold bites
No crown in the cold
No throne in the storm
Just hands on the load
And the ones keeping warm
No crown in the cold
No king on the line
If you don't carry weight
Then you don't give mine
Stand with the workers
Stand with the worn
No crown in the cold
No throne in the storm
They preach from balconies
safe from the street
Talk sacrifice
with silk on their feet
They draw up maps
They move poor sons
Then toast the night
when the killing is done
I know that smell
I know that room
Gold on the table
and blood in the bloom
I know that voice
I know that grin
The type that says war
but never steps in
So I keep no king
and I chase no fame
No face,
no trace
just a clean cold aim
North Star buried
but my code stays lit
If power wants worship
I put ice on it
I don't bow
I don't beg
I don't kiss rings
I don't break bread
With soft hand kings
who sell hard lives
No crown survives
where the cold bites
No crown in the cold
No throne in the storm
Just hands on the load
And the ones keeping warm
No crown in the cold
No king on the line
If you don't carry weight
Then you don't give mine
Stand with the workers
Stand with the worn
No crown in the cold
No throne in the storm
A tyrant loves distance.
Clean cuffs.
Closed doors.
Names on paper.
Bodies on floors.
He wants the throne
because he fears the ground.
But every crown gets quiet
when the whiteout comes down.
Who built the road.
We did.
Who held the line.
We did.
Who paid the cost.
We did.
Who wears the crown.
No one.
Who wears the crown.
No one.
Who wears the crown.
No one.
No crown in the cold
No throne in the storm
Just hands on the load
And the ones keeping warm
No crown in the cold
No king on the line
If you don't carry weight
Then you don't give mine
Stand with the workers
Stand with the worn
No crown in the cold
No throne in the storm
Storm don't respect titles.
Cold don't read names.
Hold the tether.
Carry weight.
No crown.