In the Land of Mauve and Gold

by Drill Bit

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1.	Prologue 01:04	lyrics
Anguish reigns in those who dwell In the land of mauve and gold A hazardous realm on the brink of rebellion And a tale that’s never been told A tale of a sistren, their dreams and guardians One of warriors, witches, and royals And then of the sadness in those who oppose them Of the likeness in our foils Anguish reigns in those who dwell In the land of mauve and gold A hazardous realm on the brink of rebellion And a tale that’s never been told A tale of a sistren, their dreams and guardians One of warriors, witches, and royals And then of the sadness in those who oppose them Of the likeness in our foils Our story begins with a cruel and unusual decree That propels an impassioned endeavor to set the realm free
2.	The Primrose Sisters 02:30	lyrics
CASCA I have bold aspirations To revise the law and attain some kind of justice But for change to transpire One must recognize that our system must be trusted MILLICENT You say you want to rabble rouse Yet you cling to a decree that sties your very kin The position where you find yourself Is a far cry from the advocate you could have been MILLICENT AND CASCA You’ve abided a misguided sordid aim Oh sister, resister of your name Oooooh CASCA In a functional empire One anticipates the occasional dose of hindrance It’s the nature of progress Nigh unbeatable Thwarted only by resistance MILLICENT It’s a slightly different circumstance In this system, it’s impossible to tow the line Just reflect on what you haven’t done Then you’ll realize how you have become a foe of mine MILLICENT AND CASCA You’ve abided a misguided sordid aim Oh sister, resister of your name
3.	The Will of the Empress 02:41	lyrics
For five long years I labored with one sole dream in mind That the world I was born to Would not be the one I’d leave behind A taxing enterprise: I braved many barriers, twists and turns But the will of the empress Is hardly a favor so easily earned She wields an antiquated And wanting philosophy Of strange idleness And indulgent extremes Then as the waters fell Into a condition of decay I learned my glorious title Served only to keep revolt at bay For all that plagues our land Will ne’er be amended by anyone But the will of the empress Whose care for the water is slim to none She wields an antiquated And wanting philosophy Of strange idleness And indulgent extremes She fears an ancient fiery menace Will set the world ablaze But all that troubles her Merely dwells in her dreams
4.	Unbow 02:40	lyrics
The powers that reside in the land of mauve and gold Have stymied and denied your firm resolve Such a petty and vile intention spurns an essential certainty To reign with a righteous hand, one must evolve But they’re unwise: they doubt their own eyes Thinking the new a plan gone astray They’ll never go the way the wind blows Until you dare to show them the way For those brazen and young Bear a power as grand as the rising sun So stand, one by one And unbow, unbow Unbow, unbow Unbow, unbow Unbow, unbow Your standards and desires, given sheer tenacity Shall arouse and stoke the fires of revolution When the road to progress is encumbered by convention When the law has let you down, the sole solution Is to dare to journey elsewhere And find an answer yet to be known The only way to see a new day Is to defy the norms of the throne Your time in the sun Shall herald an enlightened union So stand, one by one And unbow, unbow Unbow, unbow Unbow, unbow Unbow, unbow
5.	Casca's Song 01:11	lyrics
Not too long ago A dragon did rain fire It laid siege to the land And ruled over all But then a little girl Did salvage the empire And cast the beast away Her name, we recall Our great empress Our great empress
6.	One Story yet to Tell 01:26	lyrics
As long as you’ve been with me I’ve brought you up on fantasies As anathema to the toxins of the land But these limited illusions Have been meager substitutions In the face of our relentless scourge at hand If you want to place the blame As to why the world has stayed the same It’s ‘cause we’re too comfortable In abiding by the terms of the throne But there’s a weapon we’ve held in store In a tale they’ve never heard before All other stories have been told The one yet to tell is your own All other stories have been told The one yet to tell is your own
7.	Now You Know 02:41	lyrics
ZEPHYR In all of the history of the whole wide world NADIRA There’s seldom a mention of three little, fiery girls THASSELY We have the promise to restore the realm Yet no one heeds us: a ship unmanned ZEPHYR, THASSELY, NADIRA Excuses that children aren’t a power to trust Are fancies and idle notions in the face of us Reign all alone, and you’ll decay in time Soon you will need us We hold the plan Many like us have come around And sang of our pain with fervent sound We’ve either been gaslit or ignored But you don’t have that choice For now you know Oh, now you know We know the price of singing such a song Meager dissent denotes a brash rebellion Held by the sovereign as a grave offense You have decreed thus Yet here we stand Two options lay before you now: Either take our proclamations to the crown Or face the unrest as we rave unbowed With an anxious, angry voice For now you know Oh, now you know Oh, now you know
8.	Time 01:43	lyrics
A month passed The fickle moon did wax and wane And none in the empire Would ever be the same again The Whispering River Did maintain its ever steep decay And the strength of the people Grew more brittle every day Wouldn’t you fight the course of time’s call To stand still and savor it all? But time insists on marching onward Regardless of its brazen price Revolt’s a futile and forgone word In softening its enterprise Bear it all: attend to your broken heart Then find a way carry on The passing hours relent for no one But there can be a legacy In song, in song In song, in song In song, in song In song, in song In song
9.	Nightmare 01:13	lyrics
For twenty years I’ve been plagued by the same dreadful nightmare That slowly changed my great victory into a curse Though in my prime I confronted and banished a dragon, It lingers still Oh, her punishment should have been worse I should have killed the beast when I had the chance Now it roams rent free in my mind I know that one day soon it shall return again And in all likelihood forever extinguish our kind
10.	What the Faes Supply 01:23	lyrics
Oh, Mama: God among us The bravest soul the empire has ever known A rebel who dared to mettle In toils that wrought a dragon overthrown All my life I’ve looked to you And have fallen short of breath I don’t know if I could be so strong And though I know my destiny May not be to take your place I’ve learned how to usher your heirs along And what the Faes supply can nullify The unspoken words that gulf between us Such clarity can only be The disarming work of a genius
11.	The Dragon Sentinel: Part I 01:20	lyrics
IMOGEN We sustain a robust fantasia In the land of mauve and gold Autumnal hymns and paladins All marvels to behold But we’re the greatest of them all Mayhaps you have heard tell Of the realm’s illustrious squadron The Dragon Sentinel ARTEMIS It takes gall to join this sistren; Moxie to face the flames Bringing drakes to heel is no paltry deal It’s a calling; not a game ROSALIND In the face of abject terror We don’t falter; we excel So bow down before the majesty Of The Dragon Sentinel
12.	The Dragon Sentinel: Part II 00:48	lyrics
It’s a race against the spurs of time To fortify this precious land Take heed, you righteous warriors Oblivion remains at hand Relent, we perish; halt, we fail Keep moving! Every second counts We hustle for glory, justice, peace And vigilance is paramount Our surgical rhythm and stark resolve Delivers us from the fires of hell So sound the drums and take up arms Oh Dragon Sentinel
13.	You Are My Little Ones 02:38	lyrics
I gave you my titles and shelter Though my own means were small The odds were against us, but we survived On embers and brittle crumbs You took to the stories I told you In ways i did not intend And though your deductions were reckless, I loved you still For you were my little ones Now you’ve grown in abundance and gumption You thrive like a fiery eruption Preserve your firm nerve with your heads unbowed Oh, you are my little ones Now our waters are fouled by sheer negligence Though we’ve pleaded to those in power We’ve suffered by way of their scant response Of prattle and twiddled thumbs Now, I am not long for this mortal world And soon I shall roam away But no matter the distance, I will love you still For you are my little ones Now go to the one who denies us And show her the price of this crisis Your bravery has made me a mother proud For you are my little ones You are my little ones You are my little ones
14.	Dirge 00:27	lyrics
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15.	Do Not Despair 02:34	lyrics
There’s no way to assuage the weight of such a toll Your mother’s passing leaves a gaping hole This sadness may envelop you for quite a while Oh, I encourage you to grieve But don’t despair: breathe in the air And feel your feet on the ground The Earth’s still there No matter the tragedy to which you’re prone Serenity and joy can still be known All feelings change: A constant range from blissful to vile It takes a moment to believe Just don’t despair: breathe in the air And feel your feet on the ground The Earth’s still there This will not be your only pain: Take heed of slight and lonely pains Your heart may break a hundred thousand times But hope can touch your soul again And render all things whole again Remember these unwavering words of mine: Do not despair: breathe in the air And feel your feet on the ground The Earth’s still there A simple thought A strange affair Despite it all, behold, my loves The Earth’s still there The Earth’s still there The Earth’s still there
16.	The Dragon Sentinel: Part III 01:42	lyrics
SISTHO We’re the darlings of the empress: her legacy’s sword and shield We rove about the land and keep the direst threats afield And though our toils will never cease, we cast a potent spell The cause is what invigorates The Dragon Sentinel ARTEMIS We were lost, degenerate, terrified Before we took our vows An unsparing regimen raised us up To what stands before you now ROSALIND Should you imitate our protocol I doubt you’d fare as well We were built for greater purpose For The Dragon Sentinel TERAXES Listen closely to the earth And you will hear a gentle thrum That’s the heartbeat of an empire Its multitude in sum That pulse is what we’re fighting for What we’re sworn to protect This devoted, indelible cadre And its regal architect We’re fiercer, keener and than the rest And will always remain the very best So step in my way and face my blade Nothing outlives our ferocious blockade If we blink or slip even once Everything could unravel and fall apart, pell mell Hence the ceaseless, proud devotion Hence the ceaseless, proud devotion Hence the ceaseless, proud devotion-
17.	Unbow (Reprise) 00:44	lyrics
Unbow Unbow Unbow Unbow Unbow Unbow Unbow Unbow
18.	Stand 03:46	lyrics
ZEPHYR, THASSELY, NADIRA You say we prosper all throughout the land You claim we owe it all to your commands In truth, mighty empress, your subjects are in distress We long for a day of rejoicement Our clamoring may surprise you for our age Such volume stems from sorrow, pain, and rage To save this great nation from sheer devastation Resolve to decipher what the noise meant Until then We unbow, we unbow We unbow, we unbow If you believe our terms are overblown Know that with every wrong, our rightful spirt has grown The lies you have told us will never withhold us From sounding our defiant rumble You may outlast this movement we’ve devised And silence our resounding battle cries But justice is restless, resilient, and dexterous In time, your deceptions will crumble Until then We unbow, we unbow We unbow, we unbow We unbow, we unbow We unbow, we unbow THE GENIUSES Those brazen and young Bear a power as grand as the rising sun So stand, one by one So stand, one by one
19.	Gwyndolin and the Geniuses 03:04	lyrics
Stillness The realm had come to stillness Through our humbled eyes, we were paralyzed By a dragon breathing fire But through stillness All dreams arrive in stillness Providing me the alacrity our nation did require They did come to me in a dream And they told me to lead the way Else the whole of our precious land Would burn asunder and go astray Their words were plain to ascertain A clear and righteous dictation To unbow, and firmly vow To seek the empire’s salvation Oh, stillness My reign has come to stillness I fret over a threat that haunts the empire like a ghost This stillness Has done naught but yield more stillness The world journeys on, and I gaze upon an antiquated coast They must have known of my idleness For they’ve chosen you to lead the way I never thought that when they disappeared It meant my conscience had gone astray But dreams do fade: they’ve rarely staid With those who spurn the horizon And that is why your dulcet cries Compel my senses to wisen
20.	Epilogue 01:10	lyrics
The rivers then flowed alive and well In the land of mauve and gold A glorious sea change wrought by the hellion And a tale that’s never been told A tale of a sistren, their dreams and guardians One of warriors with witches and royals And how they achieved a supreme symbiosis Through the likeness in our foils The rivers then flowed alive and well In the land of mauve and gold A glorious sea change wrought by the hellion And a tale that’s never been told A tale of a sistren, their dreams and guardians One of warriors with witches and royals And how they achieved symbiosis supreme Through the likeness in our foils So remember when a land does face a trying, vital hour That an empress can bear softness And children can bear power Raaaah!

credits

released September 1, 2023

Original Cast Album
Music and Lyrics by Arif Silverman
Featuring Kaeja Cox, Katy Early, Amara Granderson, Julliette Holliday, Kimiko Jackson-Valle, Sara LaFlamme, Alex Lin, Sifiso Mabena, Uma Paranjpe, and Katy Early

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about

Drill Bit New York, New York

Drill Bit is a solo project conceived by New Yorker Arif Silverman. The project is continually expanding and experimenting. Feedback is much appreciated!