Campfire Memories

They came with the dawn in their coats of dust From old roads east, where the first fires crust Names on their tongues, and maps in their hands Wheels in the mud of a thousand lands They crossed through empires, frost, and decree Carried their songs like a hidden key Sold to the wind, but not to the chain Still they kept moving, still they remained Listen close, the old world lied Tried to bury them alive But the drum kept time inside And the blood kept singing Roma, Roma, hold your line Through the smoke, through the wire Roma, Roma, still you shine Still you carry the fire (hold your line) (hold your fire) They wrote of them wrong in the kings’ cold books With borrowed fear and suspicious looks Chased from the gates, denied the square Made to live under strangers’ stares In camps of ash, in winter’s bite They hid their names to survive the night But mother to child, and hand to hand They passed the song like a secret land Listen close, the old world lied Tried to bury them alive But the drum kept time inside And the blood kept singing Roma, Roma, hold your line Through the smoke, through the wire Roma, Roma, still you shine Still you carry the fire (hold your line) (hold your fire) Now hear the ones who rise and speak From Bucharest to Belgrade streets From Madrid alleys to campfire rings New voices tied to the old ones’ strings Not a tale of loss alone It’s bread and brass and coming home Every child who learns the name Adds another spark to the flame Roma, Roma, hold your line Through the smoke, through the wire Roma, Roma, still you shine Still you carry the fire Roma, Roma, hold your line Your old roads never die Roma, Roma, still you rise With the stars in your eyes Track from the album "Sin Parade"