Wolf Banners Over the Steppe

[low throat chant

Distant war drums]

Ho-oy

Ho-oy

Ho-oy

Wind cuts sharp through the black felt tents

Ash in my hair

Iron on my hands

Grandfather’s blade humming on my back

Names of our dead carved into the hilt

Smoke from the fire stains my teeth

Salt from the ride cracking my skin

I taste the storm in the copper air

Hear hooves in the hollow of my ribs

Raise the wolf banners over the steppe

Let them tear at the wild blue sky

We were born from the roar of the plain

We return when the last drum dies

Ho-oy

Ho-oy

Ride and cry

Raise the wolf banners high

Stars hang low

Like watchful eyes

Blood on the snow

Dark and warm

I laugh in the face of the frozen gods

Spit red prayers into the storm

Mother

Your song is a scar on my tongue

Father

Your oath is a rope on my chest

If I fall

Let the earth drink deep

Let my horse run free to the west

Raise the wolf banners over the steppe

Let them tear at the wild blue sky

We were born from the roar of the plain

We return when the last drum dies

Ho-oy

Ho-oy

Ride and cry

Raise the wolf banners high

Ho-oy

Ho-oy

Brothers call

Ho-oy

Ho-oy

Spirits crawl

Through bone

Through dust

Through steel

Through flame

We carve our mark in the endless plain (hey!)

Raise the wolf banners over the steppe

Let them tear at the wild blue sky

We were born from the roar of the plain

We return when the last drum dies

Ho-oy

Ho-oy

Ride and cry

Raise the wolf banners high