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The one I obey, my dear commander
Keep on running I will not slander
For I know you will follow my lead
Call me in if you are in need

If one commands the other will follow
That's the deal, one has to swallow
Either way, I rely on you
We kiss goodnight and start anew

Mighty Dictator of all places
followed by all human races
Watch over all the new born lives
earn the fruit of fertile strifes

Endless love, you never disclaim
nor would you repel and never blame
Unbribable Protector, punish me
and I will follow tacitly

This is an easy riddle. For all the others:

Every verse contains the same solution. The whole riddle is metaphorically describing one solution.

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  • $\begingroup$ Reminds me of life & death and gives a very dark atmosphere... $\endgroup$
    – BmyGuest
    Jan 8, 2015 at 8:55
  • $\begingroup$ @BmyGuest I'm glad to hear that :) $\endgroup$
    – Avigrail
    Jan 8, 2015 at 10:37
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    $\begingroup$ It's easy too right? $\endgroup$
    – d'alar'cop
    Jan 8, 2015 at 11:50
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ tick tock tick tock $\endgroup$
    – Bozman
    Jan 9, 2015 at 15:15
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    $\begingroup$ @Bozman You are very unlucky :D $\endgroup$
    – Avigrail
    Jan 11, 2015 at 22:39

4 Answers 4

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After reading this I am under the impression that this has to be the answer.

Time

The one I obey, my dear commander Keep on running I will not slander For I know you will follow my lead Call me in if you are in need

We all know that we humans can command time, which simply means to use the time wisely (or simply changing the time on a watch). As we carry on with our daily activities, time follows us regardless whether we use it wisely or not, which then explains why the time will not 'slander' as we 'follow (its) lead'(and we will not slander when time is running). And of course, when we are in need of time, we can call him in, which just means that we would grasp time more efficiently and thus, have 'more time'(plus, using the watch again: it will tell/call us in us when batteries are empty).

If one commands the other will follow That's the deal, one has to swallow Either way, I rely on you We kiss goodnight and start anew

We both can command each other. When we command time, we are using it wisely whereas when time commands us, we will follow it as well. That's the case as one has to swallow, and swallow itself does not mean the physical act of swallowing, it could also mean 'put up with or meekly accept something', which in this case, the one which is commanding. When the clock hits twelve, a new day starts, hence 'we kiss goodnight and start anew'.

Mighty Dictator of all places followed by all human races Watch over all the new born lives earn the fruit of fertile strifes

Time is indeed the mighty dictator of all places, and we all humans follow it. Time watches over new born lives as when time passes, the newborns gradually age to become an adult, which then gives the metaphorical meaning that time is 'watching over' them. In the case of the fruit of fertile strife, it would mean that the humans themselves are displeased and hurt because of an argument, and to have the fruit of the fertile strife would be the solution to the argument, something that can dissipate the hurt between both of them, and as we have all heard before, 'Time heals all wounds.'
Double meaning of races!

Endless love, you never disclaim nor would you repel and never blame Unbribable Protector, punish me and I will follow tacitly

We all know that time is unbiased towards anyone, and that it will still pass regardless of situation, thus explaining why it would never disclaim, repel and blame. We all know that time can never be bought no matter how much money you have, hence giving it the title, Unbribable Protector. When time 'punishes us', it means that we have not used it wisely and we realise the fact that we have wasted precious time, something that can not be bought by money and we learn the importance of time. After being punished, we would learn to appreciate and use time efficiently, and hence 'follow tacitly'.

Title Interpretation

The sands could mean hourglasses itself as hourglasses use sand to embody the meaning of time. And when turned upside down and there is no more time left, hence 'The sands of life are running out'.

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    $\begingroup$ Wow, I just loved the pun for human races, simply brilliant. $\endgroup$
    – Ronald
    Jan 12, 2015 at 0:28
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Hmm.

Man's best friend.

The one I obey, my dear commander Keep on running I will not slander For I know you will follow my lead Call me in if you are in need

Many dogs will run in-front of their owners; as long as their owners are willing to run along, dogs will keep running and the owners will follow. Unless the dog goes a direction the owner doesn't want to, in which case, from the dog's perspective, the dog is coming to the aid of the owner.

If one commands the other will follow That's the deal, one has to swallow Either way, I rely on you We kiss goodnight and start anew

Dog owner's often make their dogs swallow medication and many owners kiss their pets goodnight.

Mighty Dictator of all places followed by all human races Watch over all the new born lives earn the fruit of fertile strifes

In this particular dog's situation, their is a man or woman of their household who simultaneously takes care of the children, brings home the bread, and commands their significant other.

Endless love, you never disclaim nor would you repel and never blame Unbribable Protector, punish me and I will follow tacitly

The endless love refers to how Pet owners unconditionally love their pets (especially dog owners); Unbribable in the sense that owners rarely give in to their pets if they pout; and tacitly as dogs have no voice.

Bonus Round

For the sands of time, are running out is a lyric from Elvis Presley's Wisdom of the Ages, who also wrote "Hound Dog"

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    $\begingroup$ Very nice, in general. "[...] one has to swallow. Either way" both sides can be in both positions. From your interpretation only the dog is the devoted one here. Also "followed by all human races" is not really working in your version. But as I said I like it! $\endgroup$
    – Avigrail
    Jan 9, 2015 at 6:15
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Edit 1: New answer following emphasis from your hints

You are a:

Doctor

The one I obey, my dear commander Keep on running I will not slander For I know you will follow my lead Call me in if you are in need

The one talking is the Doctor. The doctor listens to patients and do what they tell him to. (*cough I'm sick write me a prescription) The doctor told this guy not to run but he didn't listen. The doctor knows though that this guy will eventually follow his lead and asks him to request a house call when he needs a doctor. (Because the foolish guy kept running)

If one commands the other will follow That's the deal, one has to swallow Either way, I rely on you We kiss goodnight and start anew

A doctor needs a good reputation and income so he is just as reliant on patients as patients are reliant on him. (With patients often having to swallow medication) Sometimes though you don't have to take medication but undergo surgery, in which case you "sleep" and start anew, either in the afterlife from a mistake (doctors are only human), or perhaps a new life of healthiness.

Mighty Dictator of all places followed by all human races Watch over all the new born lives earn the fruit of fertile strifes

The letters MD are capitalized, meaning medical doctor. All human races rely on doctors. Doctors deliver all babies (anyone who delivers a baby and is not officially a doctor may as well be considered a doctor from that point on, that's tough stuff). All fertile strifes result in injuries (fights), and doctors are the ones who benefit from them (from all the business).

Endless love, you never disclaim nor would you repel and never blame Unbribable Protector, punish me and I will follow tacitly

Doctors never say they love you, nor do they repel or blame patients (with the exception of Dr. House). Your lives are in their hands, they don't really take bribes because most of em have more than enough money, and if they don't like you then it's possible a 'mistake' can happen while under the knife.

The sands of life are running out... You shouldn't have pissed off the doctor.

The answer I'm thinking of "fits" but probably not what you're looking for.

The Heart

The one I obey, my dear commander Keep on running I will not slander For I know you will follow my lead Call me in if you are in need

You follow your heart, sometimes you need to help it medically.

If one commands the other will follow That's the deal, one has to swallow Either way, I rely on you We kiss goodnight and start anew

You rely on your heart, and are with it every night.

Mighty Dictator of all places followed by all human races Watch over all the new born lives earn the fruit of fertile strifes

All human races have hearts; all newborns have one; fertile strifes represent troubles which ties in to "troubled heart"

Endless love, you never disclaim nor would you repel and never blame Unbribable Protector, punish me and I will follow tacitly

Endless love could refer to forever beating heart, unbribable and can punish you with a heart attack

Again, probably not what you're looking for because it doesn't fit perfectly, but just barely enough to post.

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    $\begingroup$ This is a really good approach although I disagree with your interpretation for "unbribable". But almost fitting, in general :) $\endgroup$
    – Avigrail
    Jan 8, 2015 at 20:29
  • $\begingroup$ I feel like this could be some kind of hardware thing like a task manager and its relation to usable memory. Based on some of your other puzzles though I feel it'd be a waste to think too much more into this line of thinking xD $\endgroup$
    – Quark
    Jan 9, 2015 at 22:03
  • $\begingroup$ I'm impressed! Another good attempt but again the "unbribable" is your problem here ;) History has it that doctors are indeed bribable. The idea of "MD" is really nice but the hint says everything is metaphorically described which means no word building whatsoever. $\endgroup$
    – Avigrail
    Jan 11, 2015 at 12:26
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To thy service!!!

God. Jesus.

The one I obey, my dear commander

The commandments. John 14:15 "If you love me, keep my commands

Keep on running I will not slander

We run throughout our life and god wants to keep faith on him so that we can find our purpose of life and fulfill it. Also could refer to atheists who keep on running from him.

For I know you will follow my lead

All Theist sure do follow him.

Call me in if you are in need

We sure do in our sad times mostly.

If one commands the other will follow

"If you love me, keep my commands." - the Bible says.

That's the deal, one has to swallow

We do have to agree on it to save our souls.

Either way, I rely on you

Either as a theist or atheist I rely on you and your creation.

We kiss goodnight and start anew

: Moon, Sun alls your creation. We kiss goodnight, we start afresh.

Mighty Dictator of all places

Sure is. Though the mortals feel they rule , the god laughs and gets his biddings executed.

followed by all human races

Almost all human races follow god, different religion, different god.

Watch over all the new born lives

The lord guides all the birth animal, human, etc.

earn the fruit of fertile strifes

fertile strifes could mean good deeds that earn great fruits.

Endless love, you never disclaim

Love for the god that you cannot disclaim

nor would you repel and never blame

Inspite of what he has bestowed we do blame him for his shortcomings.

Unbribable Protector, punish me

Unbribable he is though we do try to bribe him for every little/big undertakings we want. Boon and bane is what he gives in equal measurement.

and I will follow tacitly

We have to. No one questions the Almighty.

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  • $\begingroup$ "Either as a theist or atheist I rely on you and your creation." isn't this a paradox ? :P $\endgroup$
    – Avigrail
    Jan 11, 2015 at 13:27
  • $\begingroup$ Almost forgot: no fiction novels allowed here! $\endgroup$
    – Avigrail
    Jan 11, 2015 at 13:39
  • $\begingroup$ Fiction novel?? Is the answer a novel?. btw theist or atheist both enjoy GOD's creation. $\endgroup$
    – thepace
    Jan 11, 2015 at 15:14
  • $\begingroup$ The answer is not a novel ;) And atheists do not enjoy god's creation! Technically, this is not even possible since they don't believe that god exists (as far as I know). $\endgroup$
    – Avigrail
    Jan 11, 2015 at 15:59

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