The Cog is Dead - The Girl and the Clockwork Dragon

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LYRICS:
In a kingdom high upon a hill
In a land of long ago
Lived a woeful king, waiting for the sting
Of death’s impending blow
For a clockwork dragon to the west,
Burned a village all away
Breathing fire and steam, it had now been seen
Heading in the kingdom’s way!
Protective of his subjects, this king issued a decree
He stood before his kingdom and cried, “This is what we need!”
Men of valor who will fight the dragon to the death
Warriors to go extinguish fierce and fiery breath
Selfless knights to fight the battle, man against machine
Heroes who will give their lives for king and queen!
Well the dragon got the King’s best men
They were no match for the beast
To the fire they’d run, and yet one by one
Every knight wound up deceased
Now a wee young girl named Valerie
With an artificial heart
And though small and meek, she was far from weak
She was kind and she was smart
She asked the king, “Why don’t we try approaching peacefully?”
The king, he laughed and said, “Dear girl, I’ll tell you what we need!
Men of valor who will fight the dragon to the death
Warriors to go extinguish fierce and fiery breath
Selfless knights to fight the battle, man against machine
Heroes who will give their lives for king and queen!
But Valerie was strong of heart, and she knew what she must do
Her clockwork heart was guiding her, and she had to follow through
And so she traveled to the fields
And she called the Dragon near
As it flew on down, it could hear a sound
Quite familiar to its ears
The ticking of her clockwork heart,
Sounded so much like its own
And the calming tick had reminded it
of its maker way back home
The dragon bowed to Valerie, to willingly concede
The humbled king then proudly shouted “She’s the one we need!”
We need Valerie to tame the dragon for us all
Who’d have ever thought our hero would have been so small?
She has soothed the savage beast, so sound your horn and drum!
We shall sing her praises now for years to come!

[@jacob3917]

Currently DM’ing a DnD campaign. I’ve had a bard singing this song in every town my party goes to for several sessions now. Last night the party finally confronts the Clockwork Dragon. They all prepare to fight when one goes “uhm guys… let’s consider compassion here, I believe we have heard this tale before “

[@Dislike_and_Unsubscribe]

LOL

[@marthagilbert3459]

This song should be made into a movie.

[@RegalRoyalWasTaken]

That's actually fucking brilliant storytelling if you allowed for that.

[@wonderfrog25]

Well I'm going to be playing a bard in Eberron so iv been looking for songs And I think this maybe one of my favorites

[@chasethemaster3440]

Nice

[@antaresthirdeldenlord4840]

Who'd have ever thought our hero would have been so small? Reminds me of the Hobbit. A small unsuspecting being, that saves all.

[@chrisidoo]

The Girl with the Clockwork Dragon tattoo.

[@karmawinchester7172]

Thanks for the tattoo idea

[@melkorlapich802]

She had a steampunk pacemaker

[@carriedthunder3883]

Why'd you give me that idea?

[@chrisidoo]

@@karmawinchester7172 Any progress on that? ;D

[@wyattroland]

love the fact that you had a smart king, instead of a king who would attack the dragon after it calmed.

[@debbiebuttry9783]

well an unstoppable force is tearing your kingdom apart and a child calms it, do you want to attack it?

[@beanfant_jesus]

"Who'd have ever thought our hero would have been so small?" Love that line

[@mshirzady3747]

So very small.

[@greendragon5603]

Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.

[@marthagilbert3459]

It is. I think this song should be made into a movie.

[@theconfederacyofindependen7268]

​@Green Dragon it's of course, Valerie with her Clockwork Heart, she shows what peace can do without war

[@theultimatememelord6586]

Villagers: Help, there's a clockwork dragon! Me: Have you tried hitting snooze? King:... It's brilliant! Me seventy years later: And that's how I "accidentally" destroyed the kingdom.

[@wokenlunatic2849]

The Ultimate Memelord opps 😅

[@Gearz-365]

Maybe jam its cogs. It might stall

[@lewismacleod7099]

That is literally, *literally* the backstory for the main quest in Skyrim...!

[@someoneawesome8717]

Sent this to my fiance (she's got a pacemaker and felt uncomfortable with it), it made her happy

[@Amoth_oth_ras_shash]

and thats alright thats okay! ^^...sorry ,that reminded of another song they made.

[@BobBuilder-qg1cq]

we that's so sweet 🙂👌

[@janainaicbeuamericanspace4315]

I think your username portrays you very well then

[@someoneawesome8717]

@@janainaicbeuamericanspace4315 thanks, honestly I kinda needed this unexpected positivity

[@satan3763]

@@Amoth_oth_ras_shash she'll definitely live to fight another day

[@corylusbluefox9482]

The Cog is Dead never dies.

[@dwinosishadowsteel8536]

The Cog that is dead may never die

[@forgototherpassword]

The Cog is (un)Dead

[@JukeboxTheGhoul]

What is dead may never die!

[@videogamer596]

@@JukeboxTheGhoul And in strange aeons even death may die...

[@azhida1556]

Neptune Productions literally a necromancer’s motto

[@wood2640]

Plot twist. The Clockwork Dragon was built by the girl

[@elijahmunkee5703]

Now you guys got me wanting to make a mini clockwork dragon to put on a diorama 😂

[@AuthorSquared]

The amazing thing about this song is that I can actually see it as a chapter book. Starting just before the song starts and ending with the dragon defending the kingdom with Valerie as the commander.

[@AuthorSquared]

I can't hold back anymore! I must start writing this story!

[@animecat3556]

How's it going?

[@AuthorSquared]

@@animecat3556 I've been waiting to say I have good news but it hasn't happened yet. I have a couple other projects I have to undeniably finish first and they are almost done. So at the moment it's at a standstill taunting me from a distance I can't reach. Also writing a story based on something like this needs to be done with respect to the content, style, and artistic view, and what I'm working on feels like the caliber of skill I need for a story like this. If I can finish what I'm working on I believe I can do a story like this justice.

[@Senok13]

@@AuthorSquared If you have some free time, you still should write down at least some basic ideas - then, when the time comes, it's a bit easier to put them together, look over the entire work, spot your mistakes, then rewrite, what it needs to be changed... Then, after the whole written part is done, you can go for pictures - or someone, who willing to work togheter with you with them.

[@themonstersguild]

I've been working on writing a book loosely based on this song; it's almost done actually.

[@danhelsting6308]

Ah - Inspiration for my next DnD campaign. Needs more artificer's. Everyone play an artificer. We'll have a steampunk dragon!

[@Danidoodle]

This band has been and will continue to be simply brilliant.

[@jacobthurmond6210]

I agree fully! Just found them because I looked up clockwork dragon for a D&D fight. But love them already. Also, I’m a fan of your work! I love your animations and you’re amazing!

[@tranquil.sprout]

Danidoodle true

[@leavonderlieth5781]

I'd expect you to be here- but yes. Even tho it's not the stuff I usually listen to... Also Your Art is great :)

[@RealmRabbit]

Kind of expected the king to be like "She's calmed the dragon! Now here's my suggestion of what we need... MEN OF VALOR... ect." Then the story just ends with Valerie living with the dragon and the kingdom is screwed...

[@zubinkane]

I might... remix that. Less of a classic tale, more punk.

[@blarg2429]

This song in general and your suggestion of an alternative ending in particular remind me of Aurelio Voltaire's song The Mechanical Girl, in which a king confiscates/kidnaps a robot to replace his queen (who got pissed and left for unstated reasons); the robot doesn't take kindly to this.

[@Dave-ks9fi]

If she timed it and is loyal to the king, then the kingdom is much safer.

[@Lunar1s._.]

I love this song and the story it tells. And I have some theories abt it. My theory is that the clockwork dragon was made by the same person that made Valerie's heart. I think its the reason why her heart clicking was familiar and calming to the dragon. I also have another theory and its that the dragon was sent to find her. I dont have any evidence to prove this but it was fun to think of :D

[@Dislike_and_Unsubscribe]

I like the idea

[@many_lives4925]

I just posted a similar idea but mine didn't involve the dragon searching for her. That was a nice touch. Could be such a good movie if ever given the chance.

[@panicclinic]

This makes me want to go back to a story I was working on about three clockwork guardians and a clockwork dragon.

[@Aztecsanddehydration]

I'd read that story :D sounds cool

[@trainfan-ks5hk]

What is the name

[@lorekeeper685]

@Mario Perez DnD

[@rorythebat294]

You have no idea how happy this made me. My cosplay page is The Clockwork Dragon, so to see a song about a clockwork dragon completely made my entire year.

[@swishfish8858]

Wasn't on board at first. I'm not a fan of medieval flute music. But that chorus is great, and the bridge won me over entirely.

[@lorekeeper685]

Steampunk is nice

[@thuledragon6663]

@@lorekeeper685 you know, often steampunk oddly gets confused as medieval :l it's such a big time leap and more advanced shit to it. I am not salty its just concerning that people cannot tell the difference between medieval and steampunk.

[@taramaforhaikido7272]

Moral high grounds and good intentions. The cycle of destruction. That girl was the only one not to attack out of fear.

[@boss5718]

Note to self: if I ever make a robotic clone of myself to take over the world, do not give it memories of it’s creation

[@ChaosNe0]

Now that I've heard it I know that I've been waiting for a song about a clockwork dragon being aproached with kindness!

[@kingvoid5772]

I love songs with a story like this.

[@a50ftfall6]

Steampunk medieval music I didn't even know you could do that.

[@hathus5536]

I just love the stories that these songs tell...it's so amazing, y'all need far more recognition

[@jamiesmyth2920]

I just stumbled upon this video today and I'm surprised no one has made an animation to go with this song. It's so good! I love songs that tell stories! Especially fantasy ones and ughhh steampunk is also one of my weaknesses too. This song is soooo good

[@jamesgarlick4573]

Anyone else feel like this Valerie and Sunset Val are the same person with an epic life story in medieval fantasy?

[@Traykartheswift]

Fantastic as always! I love the ballad feel of the song, with it's steampunk lyrics

[@Grisu1805]

If I'll ever make a D&D campaign, this will propably become a storyline someway down the road.

[@LordBlazoom]

Wonderful!

[@BobBuilder-qg1cq]

Holy hell man your profile pic is great

[@life1122]

What is your real name

[@kingvoid5772]

I ditto this. Simply wonderful!

[@nomiitsuki8371]

I love this song so much, it makes me cry, it´s so beautiful!! thanks for creating this masterpiece!!

[@UnserZeitMrGlinko]

Message understood, in case of monsters attacking your territory don't try to fight them back - feed women to it.

[@mrshumancar]

Made my morning!

[@MisterManTheBestMan]

This still needs to be the top comment.

[@Jorick]

and if the monster demands virgins, just make sure there're no more virgins at all

[@KyleDornez]

Of course. How do you think that tradition appeared in the first place? It's not our fault that dragons ate other virgins...

[@PsylomeAlpha]

@jorick: But what about the children!?!?

[@TheShirKahn]

I just stumbled across you guys by accident and I'm so happy I did, I think I have a new favorite band!

[@cyrilltate7065]

This is heartwarming story and a beautiful song, with a message we all need hiding behind an age-old story. It drove me straight to tears. Please, keep making such wonderful music, and fueling our dreams with beauty and melodies.

[@MediocreMxM]

I just want to give a massive thanks to The Cog is Dead for giving me and my players one of the best storylines in our current DnD game, and for giving amazing content for years

[@Middlingsnail]

I found y'all 3 years too late but your story's are beautiful

[@tonypullaro6232]

I want to try and turn this into a one-shot D&D campaign.

[@willieearles3151]

I may be a little late, but your players are gonna kill the dragon. If you’re lucky. If not, they’ll seduce it.

[@tonypullaro6232]

@@willieearles3151 I dunno man. With all the half dragon races in D&D, I feel like its the Dragon rolling to seduce the players...lol

[@juliancalvo3413]

Wow, by far this is one of the best songs you wrote. I wish I could watch you live once, but I'm from Argentina. Keep up the great work guys, you rock!!!

[@thegrimreaper1892]

Every time the chorus came on I got the chills

[@Reverend_Revenant]

Why has it taken me this long to find out about this band, yall's music is nothing short of amazing!

[@skeelereaper7950]

I listen to this song every day because of the tone. Never can get enough of it

[@glitchyfairy]

This is the 1st time I've heard the song and hearing "Valerie with an artificial heart" is so funny because that's my mom's name and she was born with a heart disease

[@trainfan-ks5hk]

Mr. Hamilton slew that dragon with his digital clock

[@piotrwisniewski70]

What if this dragon made by the same guy who was singing in dead of the cog?

[@many_lives4925]

​@piotrwisniewski70 then he really wanted revenge at a world that killed his cog. 😂

[@yeethittter1285]

This was the first TCiD song I found and now I'm nostalgic af :D

[@MultiNatty10]

spectacular story-telling, so love this music, brilliant band, as a steampunk...i take my hat off to you all !!!

[@fructosecornsyrup5759]

Best background music for a D&D game featuring clockwork dragons 10/10 The dragon has been appeased.

[@carlosreetz1372]

This song kept me smiling throughout its entire duration!

[@Ritu10969]

Amazing as always or even more. Greetings from Poland 💞

[@KefkieTeapot]

Aww, medievalpunk! You guys never fail to make my heart tender since I've found you in 2013.

[@angrycat6954]

This song gave me chills omg

[@hidden2532]

Goosebumps, every time

[@many_lives4925]

I like to imagine the girl was the daughter of whoever made the dragon (somehow seperated from eachother) and the ticking of her heart reminded the dragon of its maker because both the dragon and the girl's heart were made by the same person.

[@random_dragon]

This song is one of my favorites, and always gets me into a steampunk headspace!

[@steamqueen1611]

As soon as the music started I already knew that I love it!

[@alchemistrose928]

Id love to see someone animate this, im sure it would be great

[@jennyromero970]

Ha! This is a fun song. It has a Pratthcett touch to it I have to say.

[@hathus5536]

I always live the stories their songs tell

[@BobBuilder-qg1cq]

Ooohhhh my god that intro music gives me chills (in a good way obviously)

[@mileonaslionclaw2525]

discovered this song recently and now I can't stop listening to it! it's so good!

[@thuledragon6663]

there are people out there trying to kill music but there is glorious members of society like this fighting so hard with their talent to make beautiful works of art that people can listen to so many times and appreciate. Something needs to change but we at least can see bands and artists that are just not destroyed by the music industry into making crap and for that it gives hope that music can be saved and secured.

[@juliank6793]

Ahh yes, the anti-music cabal secretly plotting to destroy music really need to be stopped.

[@sednavaporeon7226]

Ah i agree! Crap like Taylor swift, Rihanna, katy perry, and other pop trash are so uncreative

[@Michi-uo4yf]

this is my favorite song love it a lot keep on making great songs man...

[@yuuka4964]

It's always enlightening to see your songs, and this one as well. As per usual, well done.

[@socksok]

*Cough* Leo Valdez and Happy the Dragon *Cough* I will forever call Genderbent!Leo Valerie because of this amazing song.

[@CommanderViviax]

Awesome! That is so wonderful and unexpected! They won by love!

[@dermanteloler3011]

This song is an absolute jam!

[@zoemal]

I could easily make a movie or write a book about this song... I mean very easily

[@remingtonwright6796]

My party in my tabletop setting ventured into a dungeon that was once a city of a race of humanoids once thought extinct. When in fact they had transferred their consciousness into machine bodies. They busted to surviving members of this kingdom out; a humanoid female bard with a clockwork violin, and the king who chose the body of a mechanical dragon (the appearance of which I based on nicol bolas from magic: the gathering). All this was before I had even heard this song.

[@comettamer]

"A kingdom gains more by one years peace, than by ten years war." -Steve Berry, The King's Deception. Thats the lesson learned here, that diplomacy often accomplishes more than fighting

[@diegosarmiento6266]

You are the best steampunk band, de are a little people, please, say hi to me, sorry forma the handwriting wrongs, i speak spanish.

[@thecogisdead]

Hi! Thank you very much, glad you like the music! :)

[@crossbones5428]

(Just a joke, don’t take this as racist) When your trying to talk to someone in Spanish, what you do is add an A to the end of every word.

[@roku3d265]

that's better English than most Americans. By The By i'm an American.

[@emilylyn8556]

If you liked this band than I suggest steam powered giraffe! They're amazing as well

[@christinapierce8476]

Wolf Hound Indeed they are; personally I think that they are the best of the steam punk brand.

[@Linuxdirk]

Goddamn, this gives me absolute feels for whatever reason. Welling up every time.

[@MrBigCookieCrumble]

What a sweet song!

[@WandererBasil]

god i've been on a binge of most your guys' songs for the past few days but this one specifcally is SO good. i love songs that tell a specfic story, which i'll admit theres not many of them these days. not only that, but the steampunk style and just general melody of the song is so unique. i've never heard a band with such a unique style to it. as someone who just generally loves dragons and the steampunk style this song is the best thing i've ever listened to. love yalls music so so much!!!!

[@Fishcak]

I heard this 3-4 years ago so thanks KZbin algorithm for findin it for me again

[@Freedom1man]

This should totally be a movie, anime, or even a bleeding play for crying outloud

[@MegaMawileTheNommer]

So literally valerie's clockwork heart was the only reason the dragon did not roast her. Had she had her original heart, she'd be dead and this story would have been about an idiot... instead its about a lucky fool!

[@felixfauxington99]

*all fun and games till the dragon here’s the words FUS RO DAH*

[@93camping]

To be fair, as the song says, it was that clockwork heart that told her to go meet the beast to begin with.

[@lesbidulesdoldi]

Awesome! I just discovered your band, and this is amazing! You have a new subscriber, folks ^_^

[@Dredbot-hj7gy]

Incredible, Like Always!

[@knownas2017]

Aye! I come back to listen to this song, and I find my old account I forgot the password of.

[@jcann6504]

Beatiful song!

[@mariabarnes4094]

Love this song!

[@Amoth_oth_ras_shash]

And those whom rather chose death they reaped what they sought ,while those whom embrace symbioses will ride upon its strength.... perhaps a clockwork dragon of ticking cogs hissing steam and glimmering fibre....once the one whom reached out a hand in friendship to it grown old ,will offer it to unlock immortality through brass and dancing lights.....for one whom sought understanding with it ,rather then its end...

[@Drghost1235]

Yet another amazing song from one of my favorite bands! Keep up the good work, and let the clockwork keep ticking on! (I just wanted to say that XD)

[@jakturner7844]

Okay, so here’s the thing; I honestly don’t think of TCD’s “songs” as actual songs. I think of them more as stories, put to music, a-la Native American chants and songs, in order to pass their history down, so that they never forget their past. Every single time I hear a TCD story come on Pandora, or someone mentions it, it feels like I’m just being told of exploits of an alternate history, where steam power never went out of style. Not only do I just love the steampunk genre as a whole, but the music that comes from it is my favorite part to come from it, period, and these guys are probably the best band out there who specializes specifically in steampunk storytelling.

[@the_protectorof_smols3563]

I love songs that are stories

[@johnrickard8512]

If society ever went down the tubes we would probably see something like this. After all, we would still be able to make high precision machines thanks to advancements in the field but electronics would be rather problematic to construct in all but maybe vacuum tube form. Therefore, steam and combustion engine powered everything - running on biofuels of course because crude oil isn't something you can make without advanced gear nowadays.

[@AxieLotl]

I LOVE THIS SONG!

[@danielharmon1204]

Great song!

[@Shindai]

Four seconds in and im in love with it already

[@mr.nutcracker8957]

Beautiful

[@zoop2174]

I love it! Would be a great thematic for an Album too :D

[@teddyrowe6353]

It's been 70 years

[@ThisIsACreativeName]

*this story is so good*

[@TheGT0000]

Wow, perfect.

[@geshvadnasiri7626]

Amazing

[@emustick]

I would definitely download that wallpaper!

[@orionriftclan2727]

I remember this song because of a DnD race, the Reborn which has a background that has clockwork organs as a reason why they are Reborn

[@RegalRoyalWasTaken]

Valerie best girl

[@ahmetburakcan8626]

''We shall sing her praises now for years to come!'' TURKEY ☾★ WONDERFUL!

[@walkingdead9726]

AH YES! ANOTHER GLORIOUS ARTIST WITHIN MY DAYS OF BROWSING!!!

[@lorekeeper685]

Clockwork quartet may interst?

[@vocalsforever]

i need to work overtime so i can get all your music.... i think itl be worth it.specially if i get to listen to it while i work lol

[@Jude_5555]

Now all we need is a amv to go with it

[@PredatorGamingTR]

Such an underrated song

[@nalanyldar9538]

Amazing..

[@SailorYue]

This song is o beautiful and catchy. Definitely adding to my list of "make pnv"