The Ride

When doors lie open at halloween
 On glimmering hills and lands unseen
 The oldest of all that the world gave birth
 Ride again through the hills of earth
 Chorus:
 Out of the darkness
 On the road where the dead years run
 Cold as moonlight
 Terrible as the sun
 Long before the word was spoken
 Moon scarred or promise broken
 From dust before the first day's sun
 The children of the twilight come
 (Chorus)
 When the great stones rose on the windy plain
 And the corn-mother sang for the springing grain
 They (?) on the hill
 The grey host rode and it's riding still
 (Chorus)
 When the eagles came with their wings outspread
 And the hard roads rang to the legion's tread
 The war ran straight from coast to coast
 Under the starlights rode the host
 (Chorus)
 When they came from the north with their axe and plow
 And the one-eyed god hung from the bough
 Nine knights between the earth and sky
 He saw the host come riding by
 (Chorus)
 When clamoring bells and chanting priests
 Proclaimed the dead god from the east
 And churches rose on every hand
 Still the grey host rode the land
 (Chorus)
 When gold was gone and labor cheap
 And they herded men like dogs herd sheep
 Through furnace, glair and smokey mill
 The grey host rode and it's riding still
 (Chorus)
 Through towered blocks and littered streets
 Where sirens wail and buses sleep
 Where hope lives god only knows
 For the gods died long ago
 Still the grey host rides through the dead of night
 And the cities are shadow to their sight
 For beyond the mist of centuries
 Still shine the stars and the ancient trees
 Out of the darkness