[Intro — soft and weary, the morning after the fall; gentle strings, no percussion yet] (Stay... stay...) (Hoshia na... Hoshia na...) [Verse 1 — mixed ensemble, quiet and weary, tempted by comfort] We built the walls that keep the winter out We dug the channels where the water flows Why trade a city that we know about For a heap of ash where only briar grows? (Only briar grows) [Chorus — mixed ensemble, gentle and wistful, almost a lullaby of staying] Oh the brick is strong and the mortar's deep A man can harvest what his children keep Forget the mountain, forget the ancient hill The rivers of Babylon are running still (Running still, running still) [Verse 2 — adult female alto-mezzo-soprano with soft choir, quiet and longing] We have built beside these waters We have wept beside these streams But a canal is not a calling And comfort's not a dream Our holy cities lie in ruins Zion's now a wilderness (Yerushalayim... Yerushalayim...) The house where our fathers praised You Is burned and lying desolate (Elohim... desolate...) [Chorus — adult female alto-mezzo lead with choir, rising gently from the quiet] Oh, that You would rend the heavens! Oh, that You would come down! Let the mountains quake before You Let Your fire shake the ground (Elohim! Come down! Come down!) We will not build our hope on Babylon We will not call this exile home Oh, that You would rend the heavens And lead Your remnant home! (Hoshia na! Hoshia na!) [Bridge — the two answer each other softly, the Remnant's longing rising in rounds] (mixed ensemble) Stay where it's safe, stay where it's warm — (female lead with choir) Walk through the desert, walk through the storm — (mixed ensemble) Why leave a house for a field of stone? (female lead with choir) Because a house isn't home if it isn't your own! (Ad matai, Elohim? Ad matai, Elohim?) (female lead with choir) Will You keep silent while we wait? (Ad matai, Elohim? Ad matai, Elohim?) (female lead with choir) Will You hold back at Zion's gate? (Hoshia na! Hoshia na!) We hung our harps but we kept the key — The river's wide, the brick is strong But neither one can hold our song — We were never meant for Babylon! (Yerushalayim! Never meant for Babylon!) [Final Chorus — building to a soaring, warm climax; the Remnant's cry rising over the weary rest] (mixed ensemble, soft underneath) Oh the brick is strong and the mortar's deep A man can harvest what his children keep Forget the mountain, forget the ancient hill The rivers of Babylon are running still (adult female alto-mezzo lead with full choir, soaring over the top) Oh, that You would rend the heavens! Oh, that You would come down! We will not build our hope on Babylon And lead Your remnant home! (Hoshia na! Lead us home! Lead us home!) [Outro — the stayers fall away, the remnant's cry holds] (Running still... running still...) Oh, that You would rend the heavens And lead Your remnant home (El Shaddai...)
