As we stepped into the moonlight
There was singing from afar
And all around the holy city
Pilgrims camped under the stars
When we reached the olive garden
He went further in to pray
We were frightened by his anguish
And closed our eyes to make it go away

And I dreamed that I was running
With the devil at my back
I woke up cold and shaking
But they’d already sprung the trap
There was a mob with clubs and torches
Led by a traitor and a priest
There were lies and bribes and Pharisees
And a bargain with the Beast

The day the sun went dark
So dark as doom
The day the sun went dark at noon

In the early light the Governor
Tried to wash his hands of guilt
Never guessed that what he needed
Was in the very blood that he had spilt
As the sun grew hot that morning
There were crosses on a hill
And we heard the sound of hammer-blows
As they closed in for the kill
I saw triumph on their faces
Thorny crown upon his head
And everything that we’d believed in
Was hanging by a thread

The day the sun went dark
So dark as doom
The day the sun went dark at noon

After three long hours in the burning heat
A chill ran through the crowd
We could see the darkness coming
Then it wrapped itself around us like a shroud
Soon the sky was dark as judgement
Like a plague upon the land
The soldiers called for torches
Their swords trembling in their hands

Then I heard a God-forsaken cry
And the wind began to moan
And it sounded like a father
Weeping for an only son
But when the darkness was the darkest
And all our hope was gone
He cried out ‘It is finished’
As if he meant his job was done
Then we heard him cry out ‘Father,
I place my spirit in your hands’
His head hung limp and lifeless
I thought ‘so this is how it ends’

Then like the parting of a curtain
The sun burst through the gloom
The birds began to sing
It was like a second dawn
And like death’s angel passing over
That curse of darkness fled the land
And we saw the Victim hanging there
Silent as a lamb

The day the sun went dark
So dark as doom
The day the sun went dark
So dark as doom
The day the sun went dark at noon

Graham Kendrick
Copyright © 2009 Make Way Music
www.grahamkendrick.co.uk