Oath of the Banner

I swore it on the banner, I swear it on the storm
Two chairs sit at my table and I keep their places warm
I sailed west from them, into seas no map has known
But distance is an ocean, it cannot claim my soul

Swear it, swear it

Lidia walks the high wall first, the oldest of my blood
She builds her worlds from nothing and she makes the making good
Strong in the quiet places where the lesser banners fall
If the empire stands forever, she's the reason, that is all

Swear it, swear it

Kennedy, my wild one, all thunder and all heart
You loved without a ledger from the very start
Forgive the leagues between us, forgive the years I owe
The wild card of my banner, and the best heart that I know

Swear it, swear it, please forgive me

Michelle, the wife I never knew, and never will know
In another life I kept her warm out of the snow
In this one I held the helm while the west wind had its will
Somewhere she is someone's morning, and I am a stranger to her still

Swear it, swear it, never knew her

This is the oath of the banner, and the banner does not come down
Through the seas and through the silence, through the dark side of this town
Hey! I keep it flying for my daughters
Ho! Till I see them with these eyes
This is the oath of the banner, and a father's oath survives

If you ask me where they are tonight, the truth is I don't know
But a banner isn't raised for the days that you can show
It's raised for all the nights between, in the wind and in the snow
And a man who raised that banner does not let the banner go

This is the oath of the banner, and the banner does not come down
Through the seas and through the silence, I am holding hallowed ground
Hey! I keep it flying for my daughters
Ho! Till I see them with these eyes
This is the oath of the banner
And a father's oath survives

I will return home
Sorry I missed a lifetime, but the empire is mine
Every league was a debt I owe, and I will pay it in time
I will return home