作词 : Marie-Claire Calvet
作曲 : Marco Sabiu
Hadrian:

My Lord King Charles,
A state of crisis has emerged;
For you've incurred the wrath
Of the Lombard King Desiderius.

Cast his daughter aside
And took another for your wife
He has taken offence
And it’s too late to make amends.

Our papal lands
Have been occupied by force
And fallen to the hands
Of the barbarian horde.

For too long that vile race
Has remained a threat
To papal authority
That scheming Lombard King
Is flouting his debt wilfully.

Charlemagne:

We must stand up and wage war
This has gone on for too long
It’s in all of our interests to subdue them
Once and for all.

My Lord and Holy Father
This I pledge to Thee
Like my fathers before me
I shall fight for the Holy City.

My Lord and Holy Father
I pledge Thee my loyalty
I shall see this Holy City
Restored to its former glory.

Hadrian:

It has been three hundred years
Since 'cross the Alps came those faithless lepers
To usurp the lands
Of their peace-loving neighbours.

Encroaching closer upon Rome
Their leaders wanted to capture it for their own
And now King Desiderius
Has started to harass us.

Your father was a champion of the Church
An agent of civilisation in the western world
Chosen to lead the people to the cross.

The time is once more upon us
To look to our old friends
As your fathers before you
Came to our defence.

Charlemagne and Hadrian:

And you are / I am the chosen one
To lead the faithless to the cross
In His Empire in the West
O'er the Lord flock you / I keep watch.

Charlemagne:

My Lord and Holy Father
I pledge Thee my loyalty
I shall see this Holy City
Restored to its former glory.

And with the authority vested in me
I shall claim the Iron Crown of Lombardy.

Narrator:

At the foot of the Alps, an army of men from all nations of Frankish territories gathered together... and keeping in unity, advanced across the treacherous passes of the mountain range that divided the Kingdom of Francia from the Kingdom of the Lombards. It was here that a long siege that was to last for many months through was to be the longest winter for both the Frankish and Lombard forces, took place.

Storytelling Singer:

From Geneva they marched
Through pathless mountain ridges they advanced
Drifts of snow get in the eye
And rocks that rear a mile into the sky.

In the foothills, the scenic lakes
Moraine and sloping plains in their wake
In two parties they despatched
In a move to push the enemy back.

After months of siege
At the fort of Pavia
The obstinate Lombard King
Finally gave in to Rome’s saviour.

Forced to give hostages
And to restore towns and fortresses
Which he had taken from the Pope
On the Holy Sacrament he then took an oath.

Hadrian:

The time is once more upon us
To look to our old friends
As your fathers before you
Came to our defence.

Charlemagne and Hadrian:

And you are / I am the chosen one
To lead the faithless to the cross
In his Empire in the West
O'er the Lord flock you / I keep watch

Choir:

Come springtime.

Charlemagne and Hadrian:

The last of the alpine blasts had blown
The Franks are still encamped
By the banks of the river Po.

Choir:

Come springtime.

Charlemagne and Hadrian:

The last of the alpine blasts have blown
The son of Desiderius to Byzantium had flown.

Choir:

Come springtime.

Charlemagne and Hadrian:

The last of the alpine blasts had blown
The banks of the river Po
Are swelled by the melting snows.