In a kingdom under the stars
There lived a knight of the royal guard
He lived by creed, he lived by the law
No lies he ever spoke at all

Ever loyal to his king
A code he swore with dignity
His sword a swinging arm of truth
Raining justice with each swoop

‘Cause rules are rules, they keep in line
Every woman, man, and child
And the rules no one dares break
For a pointed sword awaits

Rules are rules, they keep in line
Every woman, man, and child
And the rulеs no one dares break
For a pointеd sword awaits

As time passed by the king’s demands
Grew bigger than a flame expands
His golden plate was never full
A heart of greed insatiable

By royal act he did proclaim
The knight to seize half of the estate
Of every person, serf or lord
Except the king himself of course
‘Cause rules are rules
But rules can bend
To the will of tyrants
The knight gave pause but still complied
Rules he still had to abide

He knocked on every village door
Plundered from the sick and poor
But each time his heart did break
Who was he to seal their fate?

While the knight was guarding his post
A shadowy figure scurried close
Upon a glance it was a child
Just skin and bones and ghastly eyes

She begged and pleaded at his feet
To break curfew for one eve
To forage in the forest for food
The errant knight knew what to do

‘Cause rules are rules
But rules can break
If they no longer serve the state
To repent with his sword raised
He cut the ropes that held the gates
As she fled he sat in wait
To be bound in links and chains
But his brethren cheered and cried
In their hearts now stirred a fire

Rules are rules
And rules for some
Are blindly followed, set and done
But one heart is all it takes
To bring to rules a needed change