Loved You in the Ruins

Lyrics

[Intro]
Hush the wreckage; hear the ash still falling
Names like smoke, drifting from our bones
Cold hands meeting, shaking, warming
Say the vow low, where the coals can know

[Verse 1]
I walked through houses with their hearts blown open
Windows like eyes that forgot how to close
All that I carried was a map made of silence
A match in my palm and nowhere it could go
Then there you were, a coal under cinders
Breathing like winter that refuses the snow
You didn’t ask for rescue, only shelter from the shaking
You said, if you won’t run, then I won’t go

[Pre-Chorus]
I learned to sleep with the sirens, with glass in my hair
Kept my voice folded small so the wind wouldn’t know
But your hands were a harbor, raw-knuckled and honest
If we speak tonight, we speak it low

[Chorus]
I loved you in the ruins, where nothing else could grow
Under ash-thick skies we found a hidden pulse below
With cold hands over coals, we kept a stubborn glow
I loved you in the ruins, where nothing else could grow (say it low)

[Drop]

[Verse 2]
I counted losses like stones in a pocket
Threw them in rivers that refused to flow
Your voice was water from a cracked canteen
Bitter as iron, but it warmed my throat
We stitched our names into blackened timber
Char under fingernails, smoke in our clothes
Staying was the harder war, but we chose it
A gate with no hinge, and still we closed

[Pre-Chorus 2]
If fear comes back like weather, let it circle the stone
We’ll bank the embers deeper, breathe steady and slow
No banner, no salvation, just this oath between our ribs
If we speak again, we speak it low

[Chorus 2]
I loved you in the ruins, where nothing else could grow
Black walls listening while our quiet thunder rolled
We bled the cold from winter with a patient, faithful hold
I loved you in the ruins, where nothing else could grow (say it low)

[Drop 2]

[Bridge]
If the roof gives to the wind, I will be the beam
If the night drinks out the stars, I will be the glow
If your hands go numb with fear, put them into mine
Stay with me, even when staying is the harder war, said low

[Chant Break]
Hold. Breathe. Stay. (hey!)
Ash to ember, ember to flame (hey!)
Low we vow, low we know (hey!)
Stone remembers every oath (hey!)
Hold. Breathe. Stay. (hey!)
We will not unmake this glow (hey!)

[Final Chorus]
I loved you in the ruins, where nothing else could grow
Through iron rain and empty wind, we kept a furnace soul
Cold hands on coals, we turned the ruins into home
I loved you in the ruins, where nothing else could grow
I loved you in the ruins, where nothing else could grow (say it low)
I loved you in the ruins, where nothing else could grow (I won’t unmake this)

[Outro]
Hush, the ash is settling; the coal still holds your name
I loved you in the ruins, said low, and we remain