Songs of the Prosperitas Sector
Songs and Hymns of the Prosperitas Sector
The Prosperitas Culture has a series of ancient musical traditions, native and colonist alike. While singing in the native languages of the Annwfyn and Ruwwad is illegal, traditional tunes from both cultures with Low Gothic lyrics are popular on colonised planets; and the Imperial colonists brought a wealth of music with them.
Hymns
Thor's Holy Bones
Tune here
I have shed my robe and crown
I have shed my golden shackles
When I walk on Terra's soil
I shall barefoot be, and humble,
To see Thor's holy bones
To seek Saint Alicia's splendour
I have travelled through the stars
I have fasted, prayed and wandered
To see Thor's holy bones
Though the night is vast and dark
Though the void is full of horrors
I will fix my eyes on Sol
I will sail with ceaseless wonder,
To see Thor's holy bones
To seek…
And when someday I return
To my friends and waiting lovers
Let me burn them like the sun,
Let me fill them with the fervour
To see Thor's holy bones
To seek…
Should my courage fall away
Should I fear the fire's blessing,
You must lift me to the light,
Tell me, "once, you went a pilgrim,
To see Thor's holy bones"
To seek…
Then when winter fills my blood
And the Throne unceasing calls me
Let my fading eyes see nothing
But the light that once compelled me
To see Thor's holy bones
To seek…
Ave, Ave Imperator
On a warship bound for Terra
There's a soul with a mournful eye
High above her there's an angel
Winging wrathful through the sky
How the warp is howling
It howls with all its might
Howls and howls the whole day through
And half the summer night, singing sweetly:
Ave Ave Imperator
Ave Imperator Dei
Ave Ave Imperator
Ave Imperator Dei
Hold your weeping, said the angel,
Who told you you would die alone?
Every soul cries out in darkness
But you journey towards the Throne
How the Warp....
Souls are easily bound and broken
Never knowing the reason why
But whoever's faith is golden
Like the angel has learned to fly
How the warp...
Ave, Ave Omnissiah
Tune here
In the heart of every engine
In the gearing of each machine
Turns a spark of perfect reason
Burns the fire of a soul unseen
How the spheres are dancing
They dance to songs divine
Marking time across the void
And through the waves and sines, singing sweetly:
Ave Ave Omnissiah
Ave Deus Machinae
Ave Ave Omnissiah
Ave Deus Machinae
Not forgotten, not discarded
Every truth lies within His light:
He whose blesséd Comprehension
Guides our quest through the endless night.
How the spheres...
Ink and metal rust and falter
Flesh is weak and was born to die:
But whoever treasures reason
Like the stars will be raised on high.
How the spheres...
Rose Red
Tune here or here | A hymn commemorating martyred Sororitas, often sung as a round
Rose rose rose red, will I ever see thee wed?
I will marry at thy will, Sire, at thy will.
Ding dong, ding dong, wedding bells on an April morn
Carve thy name on a moss covered stone, on a moss covered stone.
Rose rose rose red, she has fought and she has bled
Waging war on a hundred worlds, on a thousand battleground.
Open fire, open fire, turn your home to a funeral pyre,
All she knows is faith and death and a moss-covered stone.
Rose rose rose red, eternity shall see her wed
Always marching on to fight to another bitter end.
Open fire, open fire, the flames of war can still burn higher
Carve that as her epitaph on her moss covered stone.
Simple Faith Round
Tune here
As I stand before Her throne
Every sin I’ve ever known
Is laid bare before Her sight
And I’m cleansed by Her burning light
Laudate Imperatore
Laudate, laudate Imperatore
In Cathedra auratae, laudate
Per caeli Terraeque rex est et invictus
Carnosus et machinae, nemonis abiectus
Laudate, laudate Imperatore
In Cathedra auratae, laudate
Aquilam attolemus, aura decoratur
In hoc signo vincemus, malus debellatur
Laudate, laudate Imperatore
In Cathedra auratae, laudate
Laruae et lamiae nomen sanctum horrent
Sacrilegi miserae cladis sui deplorent
Laudate, laudate Imperatore
In Cathedra auratae, laudate
Souls of Terra
Tune here
Souls of Terra, stop your dreaming,
Can’t you see their lasguns gleaming?
See their evil pennants streaming
To this battlefield.
Souls of Terra stand ye steady,
It cannot be ever said ye
For the battle were not ready.
Stand and never yield.
From the hills rebounding.
Let this song be sounding.
Summon all at the Emperor‘s call.
The mighty force surrounding.
Souls of Terra on to glory.
This will ever be your story.
Keep these burning words before ye
Terra never yields!
Turn Your Hearts To Terra
Turn your hearts, o turn your hearts to Terra
Turn your hearts unto the shining light
Set your course by mankind’s mighty Father
Let the Throne’s golden glory lead you right.
Turn your hearts, o turn your hearts to virtue
Live your lives with faith and so with pride
Heed the words of saints and priests and in them hear
The call which cannot be denied.
Turn your hearts, o turn your hearts to Terra
Turn your hearts unto the shining light
Set your course by mankind’s mighty Father
Let the Throne’s golden glory lead you right.
Turn your hearts, o turn your hearts to duty
Resolutely hold thou firm and stand
Walk the path which He has set before you
For only in death does duty end.
Turn your hearts, o turn your hearts to Terra
Turn your hearts unto the shining light
Set your course by mankind’s mighty Father
Let the Throne’s golden glory lead you right.
Turn your hearts, o turn your hearts to battle
As the drums sound and the trumpets call
In His name, take up your arms and armour
And stand boldly forth as heroes all.
Turn your hearts, o turn your hearts to Terra
Turn your hearts unto the shining light
Set your course by mankind’s mighty Father
Let the Throne’s golden glory lead you right.
Turn your hearts, o turn your hearts to glory
Fill your hearts with faith like flame ablaze
Burn on bright as stars against the darkness
And fight on, till you stand before His gaze.
Turn your hearts, o turn your hearts to Terra
Turn your hearts unto the shining light
Set your course by mankind’s mighty Father
Let the Throne’s golden glory lead you right.
Secular Songs
Jacinta's Flag
Tune here | A drinking song from the early days of Durovera's Crusade
Oh when the traitors, they come a-marching
Well we will fight, we will fight for Jascinta’s flag
Oh when the traitors, they come a-marching,
Spit in the face of history.
And when the titans, they come a-rolling
Well we will fight, we will fight for Jascinta's flag
When the titans, they come a-rolling
If she can slay them so can we
And when the cannons rain down from orbit
Then we will stand, we will stand like Jascinta's flag
When the cannons rain down from orbit
Then we shall stand with dignity
And when their voidships blot out the sunlight
Then we will fire, we will fire for Jascinta's flag
When their voidships block out the sunlight
Then we shall fire until they flee
And when the whiskey, it starts a-flowing
Then we shall drink, we shall drink to Jascinta's flag
When the whiskey, it starts a-flowing
Then let us pour it fast and free
And when they hunt us, they shall not find us
For we'll be quick, we'll be quick with Jascinta's flag
When they hunt us, they shall not find us,
And we shall scorn their infamy.
And when my body is lost and broken
Then I shall rest, I shall rest 'neath Jascinta's flag,
When my body is lost and broken
Well then troops, you fight for me!
Oh when the traitors, they come a-marching
Well we will fight, we will fight for Jascinta’s flag
Oh when the traitors, they come a-marching,
Spit in the face of history.
Out to the Black
Tune here | Popular among the Caudican Diaspora
My world is barren and broken
Scarred as the face of her moon
The old names are no longer spoken
Our hives and our spires lie in ruins
Will there be work on Polarnus?
New quarries and tunnels to shape?
I could fly all the way out to Cadia
But oh, I can never escape
Chorus:
Where there's a mine or a claim to be found
That's what I'm headed for, that's where I'm bound
Look for me out past the Gulf, on a moon far away
Where the rhodium and gold, the promethium and tin
Run in your blood, they get under your skin
I'm leaving the system tonight, and I'm not coming back
So follow me out to the black
The desert gave life to the hopeless
We bored out a mountain of spoil
When visions of Terra sustained us
And blessings rewarded our toil
Do you remember the spire-tops?
A decade can pass in a dream
When you're working away in the darkness
Deep in the heart of the seam
Where there's a mine or a claim to be found...
I dream of our heroes rewarded
Redeemed in the sight of the Throne
Their righteousness duly recorded
The names of the dead set in stone
Where there's a mine or a claim to be found...
They Say The Stars
Tune here | A cautionary tale, sometimes banned on more orthodox worlds
They say the stars come out by night
They say the Eagle will take flight
They say your world will be torn apart
If you should give a psyker your heart
Her eyes were bright which should be blind
I heard her voice inside my mind
Black ships will carry her away
She will not see another day
In dreams I saw her face so fair
All twisted through with bleak despair
“I am the Emperor’s property
But still, I ask, could you ever love me?”
“Oh you who’ve seen the Golden Throne
Must know your life is not your own
For how could mortal love compare
To love divine which you must have known there?”
“Oh I have seen the Golden Throne
My life can never be my own
But I would trade immortal bliss
And risk my soul for just one kiss
Her kindly words crept through my heart
For what could keep two lovers apart?
As through my mind her darkness stole
She turned my head and she warped my soul
They say the stars will never fail
That holy war will ere prevail
And your whole world will be torn apart
Should you ever give a psyker your heart
My Father Said
Tune here
Not long, not long, my father said
Not long will you be ours:
The Golden Throne knows all too well
Which are the fairest flowers.
The priest was all too worldly though
She prayed and rang her bell:
The Medicae three candles lit,
The priest said it was well.
Your arms were all too feeble though
You claimed to love me so:
The Emperor stretched out Their hand,
You sighed and let me go.
This land is all too shallow
It is painted on the sky
And it trembles like the wind-shook rain
When the Emperor breathes a sigh.
Forever and for always
I pray, remember me:
Before the Throne, beyond the stars
In the Emperor's company.
The Imperial Navy has a particularly strong choral tradition, with shanties and hymns used to keep time during menial tasks such as hauling the great chains to reload macrocannon batteries. Navy songs tend towards the boisterous, loud and repetitive.
Star Chanty
Recording here
Chorus:
Away, hey, look out away
Set course through the Sector for we’re on our way
Away, hey, look out away
And the stars in the aft-port doppler away
Our new life begins as we cast off today
(Away, hey, look out away)
Our home is this vessel, a battleship grey
(And the stars in the aft-port doppler away)
Away, hey, look out away...
Farewell to our homeworld, her blues and her greens
Farewell to her oceans, her meadows and streams
Away, hey, look out away...
It will be many years ere our journey is done
Till we stand in the light of another bright sun
Away, hey, look out away...
So sing the last psalms as we practiced before
Our hearts leap with joy as the great engines roar
Away, hey, look out away...
Leave Her Hooky
Tune here | Recordings here, here
I thought I heard the Captain say
Leave her, Hooky, leave her
One broadside more till we belay
And it's time for us to leave her.
Chorus:
Oh leave her Hooky, leave her
Oh leave her Hooky, leave her
One broadside more till we belay
And it's time for us to leave her.
The boats have launched and the vents gape wide
Leave her, Hooky, leave her
She'll sail no more on the Warp's strange tides
And it's time for us to leave her.
Well they've blown our shields and they've come aboard
Leave her, Hooky, leave her
But we've a passage fee they can ill afford
And it's time for us to leave her
Now we've spiked the guns and the helm's athwart
Leave her, Hooky, leave her
And they'll learn too late what the rates have wrought
For it's time for us to leave her.
But we'll leave her tight and we'll leave her trim
Leave her, Hooky, leave her
And she'll burn so bright that the stars will dim
Now it's time for us to leave her.
Voidfarer's Farewell
Tune here | A recent propaganda version of a popular drinking song
Farewell and adieu to you dirtside companions
Farewell and adieu for we cannot remain
For we’ve received orders to brave the warp’s currents
Who knows if you’ll see our fair faces again
Chorus
And it’s one dirtside dance ere we make for Polarnus
And one Voidborn kiss ere we brave the warp’s fears
Oh we’ll love you and leave you and never forget you
Though our journey through Hell should take ten thousand years
Now the signal’s been made for the grand fleet to gather
And every true rate has their pistol to hand
From rimward and coreward the warships are mustering
Our duty’s before us, Polarnus will stand
And it’s one dirtside dance ere we make for Polarnus
...
Now let every rate drink a toast to the Emperor
And let every rate drink their fill from the bowl
Oh let us be jolly and drown melancholy
With a toast to each faithful and brave-hearted soul
And it's one dirtside dance...
Light of the Emperor
Tune here
For all who sail beyond the sky
Let the light of the Emperor shine on me
Through the deep of space shines a glorious eye
Let the light of the Emperor shine on me
When the starlight fades and the shadows fall
Let the light of the Emperor shine on me
When the storm draws in and the demons call
Let the light of the Emperor shine on me
Chorus:
Oh shine on me, shine on me
Let the light of the Emperor shine on me
Shine on me, oh, shine on me
Let the light of the Emperor shine on me
Oh the clouds boil black and the warp winds wail
Let the light...
And you're caught in the teeth of a living gale
Let the light...
And then your sailor's heart is filled with fear
When the sounds of claws on the hull draw near
Chorus
Then the screams grow quiet with the fading storm
But the dark is thickest before the dawn
The eternal sun burns the clouds away
From the darkest night comes the brightest day
Chorus
When your ship is safe and you're headed home
You can thank the Beacon, you can thank the Throne
Chorus
Under Ulian's Guns
Tune here | An old song about the Lion of Terra, recently re-popularised
An Imperial ship once put to sky
An Emperor who caught every eye
Eight squads of Sharks and two miles high,
Oh blow, you Warp winds, blow
Chorus:
Soon may the carrier come
To haul us out of this cursed sun
One day, under Ulian's guns
We're Coreward bound for home
'Twas not six weeks from Gaudium's light
When a fleet of rebels hove into sight
Their wakes all glowing with unholy light
And Xeno ships in tow
Chorus
The Captain rang the all-hands bell
"Now take us into that gravity well!
We'll send those heretic scum to hell,
And watch their foul blood flow."
Chorus
The pilots dropped their medals and tea
And jumped in their Thunderbolts, one-two-three,
The fire they spat made the Xenos flee
And the rates all cheered below
Chorus
The first torpedoes took us aboard
While the lances sparked and the batteries roared
And on the decks it was teeth and swords
As the armscrew struck their blows
Chorus
The rebels turned and made to fly
But the Lion's crew gave the battle-cry
The battleship turned with a gleam in her eye
And the engines roared below
Chorus
A storm blew up from the depths of Hell
And the Lion rocked in the fiendish swell
The relays sparked and the voidshields fell
It took the ship in tow
Chorus
But the fighter wing had turned too late
In the grip of the star and an evil fate
When they looked about for the carrier's wake
The storm had swallowed her whole.
Chorus
With static on the vox in the silent chill,
For all I know they're orbiting still,
Till the tides of the Warp and the Emperor's Will
Bring their souls back home
Monforte's Folly
Tune here | A lament about the loss of the St Sanguinius. Sector propagandists have been at pains to impress that the fate of the ship is unknown and the content of this song speculation.
The St Sanguinius lay just off the spar
For hundreds of years at the Monacus Yard
Retired and no longer to travel the stars
Roll, Sanguinius, roll
But when great House Monforte, they made their decree
The St. Sang a luxury liner would be
We rebuilt the great ship right down on the quay
Roll Sanguinius, roll, away
Roll Sanguinius, roll
Chorus:
And it's one for the cold void above
Two for the Emperor we love
and it's three for the plasma reactors below
Roll St Sanguinius,
Roll Sanguinius, roll
Diamond, Iron Lady, Macharius' Call
she was the voidship to outsize 'em all
From Gaudium's shrines to Nivalis' sprawl
Roll Sanguinius, roll
At last the Lord Monforte he gave us the sign
The giant ship slipped off the last mooring-line
What lay ahead could no mortal divine
Roll Sanguinius, roll, away
Roll Sanguinius, roll
Chorus x2
Her second-hand Gellar Field flickered and waned
In through the gaps the Empyrean came
The crew that survived it were never the same
Roll, Sanguinius, roll
So come all you good workers, beware the command
That comes down on high from the desk of a man
Who scrimps on the budget and won't heed the plans
Roll Sanguinius, roll, away
Roll Sanguinius, roll
Strayvian Passage
Tune here | The recovery of the Lion of Terra has led to rumours of new efforts to find the Stormchaser, belonging to the first Warmaster, which went missing in 101.M41.
Chorus:
Ah, for just one time I would take the Strayvian Passage
To find Jacinta's flagship, out wherever it may be
Tracing one bright line through the Eye so wild and savage
I'll bring the old Stormchaser back with me
T'was back in three-oh-four the gallant Ulian disappeared
The Lion of Terra swallowed by the Lash so fierce and feared
But after these three centuries the Lion's no longer lost
And I shall find the Stormchaser no matter what the cost
Chorus
Though I wasn't born a sailor, I have learned as best I can,
In Durovera's footsteps, where her conquest first began
Watching planets rise before me, then behind me sink again
This tardiest explorer, in the wake of her campaign
Chorus
I worked my way up through the ranks and never made a slip
And after sixty years at last they've given me a ship
She's barely got a Gellar field, she's rusted through and through
But the bravest in Prosperitas she counts among her crew
Chorus
We've cleared the docks at Strayvia, our course set for the Gate
We've gone to find the Stormchaser, five hundred years too late
We'll not return without her, so pray for all our souls
And think of us when you remember those still on patrol
Chorus