[Verse 1] Before the fences cut the valley into squares Before the survey stakes and county fair A gray shape crossed where the dry creek bends With a patient heart and a back of wind Dust in his mane, sun on his hide A thousand miles of silence at his side He carried the timber, the water, the stone And left his tracks where the West was grown [Pre-Chorus] Now the morning breaks with a metal cry And every young one learns the sound of the sky [Chorus] Let them run, let them run Where the red earth meets the rising sun They have carried our roads, they have carried our dreams Now they carry the wound of our machines No more ropes through the sage, no more fear in the flight No more families scattered before night They are feeling hearts beneath dust and bone Let the wild burros keep their home [Verse 2] The helicopter circles low and hard Turning open country into a prison yard A mare presses close to a trembling foal While the engine shakes the morning whole They drive them toward a gate of steel Past thirsty troughs and a loading wheel One old jack stands with his head held high As if he can ask us the reason why [Pre-Chorus] Who taught us freedom was ours to take? Who counts the lives that the fences break? [Chorus] Let them run, let them run Where the red earth meets the rising sun They have carried our roads, they have carried our dreams Now they carry the wound of our machines No more ropes through the sage, no more fear in the flight No more families scattered before night They are feeling hearts beneath dust and bone Let the wild burros keep their home [Verse 3] I saw one standing behind the pen Calling once for the ones who had gone ahead His voice rolled out through the winter rain And came back empty from the mountain chain There are eyes in the dark that remember the trail There are ears that still hear the old wagon rail There are mothers who nudge their babies awake When the thunder returns and the valley starts to shake [Chorus] Let them run, let them run Where the red earth meets the rising sun They have carried our roads, they have carried our dreams Now they carry the wound of our machines No more ropes through the sage, no more fear in the flight No more families scattered before night They are feeling hearts beneath dust and bone Let the wild burros keep their home [Bridge] Their ancestors hauled the West through the dust When iron was scarce and a promise was trust They gave us their backs when the grades grew steep Now we owe them a country where they can sleep Not every open mile belongs to a claim Not every living soul is a number or name If mercy is more than a word we recite Then stand with the voiceless and answer tonight [Verse 4] Put down the engines, open the gates Let the old trails cross the lines we made Give them clean water, room to roam A family’s worth of sky for a home And if you hear hooves on the canyon floor Do not call it trespass, do not call it war It is the sound of a promise returned It is the freedom for which we yearned [Final Chorus] Let them run, let them run Where the red earth meets the rising sun They have carried our roads, they have carried our dreams They are more than a mark on a government sheet No more ropes through the sage, no more fear in the flight No more families scattered before night They are feeling hearts beneath dust and bone Let the wild burros keep their home Let them run, let them run Till the last red ridge is touched by the sun And remember the ones who made this land wide With a steady old step and a patient stride No more helicopters hunting the plain No more calling their sorrow a gain They are feeling hearts, and their freedom is known Let the wild burros keep their home [Outro] Let the wild burros keep their home Let the wild burros keep their home Past the wire, past the gate, past the fear we have sown Let the wild burros keep their home
