[Intro: Clarion-voiced anthem male lead, piano chords, one pounding drum] Calhoun Street, two bedrooms, one pot on the stove One woman and one rule, nobody sleeps in the cold [Verse 1: Clarion-voiced anthem male lead, pounding live drums, big piano chords] First one came in winter with a trash bag and a coat Seven years old and a lump in his throat Caseworker on the stoop with a clipboard and a sigh Said it's only for the weekend, Miss Odette said, we'll try Weekend turned to Christmas, Christmas turned to May Then a girl came off a bus with nowhere else to stay Then two boys from the shelter, then the twins from Pine Street Then a kid who didn't talk for a year and only stared at his feet She put bunk beds in the bedroom and a cot behind the chair Gave her own bed to the babies and she slept out there [Hook: Clarion-voiced anthem male lead, belted, drums pounding, piano chords] Two rooms, nineteen kids, and she never said no Slept on the couch so we'd have somewhere to go Whole world said no room, said we were too much She made room, now the world better make room for us [Verse 2: Clarion-voiced anthem male lead, bigger drums, piano driving] Every school called her Mama, every judge knew her name Every check went to sneakers and the winters were the same Two jobs and a church kitchen and a bus at five Pot of beans stretched to nineteen and we all stayed alive She ain't never had a car and she ain't never had a trip Had a wooden spoon she never swung and a look that made you quit When we ran, she left the light on and the dinner on the plate And she never asked us where we been, she only said you're late [Hook: Clarion-voiced anthem male lead, belted, drums pounding, piano chords] Two rooms, nineteen kids, and she never said no Slept on the couch so we'd have somewhere to go Whole world said no room, said we were too much She made room, now the world better make room for us [Bridge: Clarion-voiced anthem male lead, piano punches with the kick, full band swelling] Now she's seventy on Calhoun and the house can't hold us all Nineteen grown and all our babies lined up down the hall So we took it to the street, folding tables end to end A nurse, a cop, a welder, and every one her kids again And she's crying in her housecoat saying how'd y'all get so loud I said you taught us how to take up space, now look at your crowd I was the first one with the trash bag, Mama, I'm still here And I'm singing it so loud now that the whole city can hear [Final Hook: Clarion-voiced anthem male lead, belted, everything in, piano punching] Two rooms, nineteen kids, and she never said no Slept on the couch so we'd have somewhere to go Whole world said no room, said we were too much She made room, now the world better make room for us [Outro: Clarion-voiced anthem male lead, one last piano chord] Make room [End]
