There's a light in the window of a town called Talas
Where the river runs cold off the mountain pass
In the spring of '92 came the iron and the smoke
Down the Chu road rollin' with the red flags broke
Then they cut off the water and the bread ran thin
And the old church bell called the horsemen inFrom the high summer pastures, from the canyon floor
Came a thousand saddles, and a thousand more
CHORUS:
So ride, ride for Talas
Ride through the dust and the flame
Ride, ride for Talas
Every rider knows her name
Hold the line till the morning
Hold the cross up to the sky
Ride, ride for Talas
Ride on, Irad, ride
He was sixteen years with his granddaddy's gun
And a grey Akyel mare that could outrun the sun
His mama tied a cross on the bridle strap
Said "Son, you ride for Talas, then you ride on back"
Seventy nights where the river bends
Wolves at the door and no help to send
But they held at the bridges and they held at the square
And the old men sang the old songs there
CHORUS:
So ride, ride for Talas
Ride through the dust and the flame
Ride, ride for Talas
Every rider knows her name
Hold the line till the morning
Hold the cross up to the sky
Ride, ride for Talas
Ride on, Irad, ride
Now some swore they saw a rider dressed in white
Ride along the line in the dead of night
Never fired a shot, never said a word
But every frightened heart on that line was heard
Atka min! Atka min!
(mount up, mount up)
Atka min! Atka min!
When the June sun rose on the eighteenth day
All the guns on the Chu road had rolled away
And the kids in Talas, they will tell you true
That the riders held the city till the dawn came through
CHORUS:
So ride, ride for Talas
Ride through the dust and the flame
Ride, ride for Talas
Every rider knows her name
Hold the line till the morning
Hold the cross up to the sky
Ride, ride for Talas
Ride on, Irad, ride
Ride on, Irad
Ride on
Beka says: the one everybody knows!! Kök Bel play it in Iradi too, Talas Üchün Chap. when the chant comes everybody shouts ATKA MIN