[Verse 1] A long, long time ago, when modems sang their dial-up song, I still remember how that progress bar could make me smile. And I knew if I had my shot, I’d build a world that we forgot— Where connection meant something for a while. But winter came and made us shiver—feeds became our frozen rivers, Breaking news on repeat, buried under clickbait heat. I can’t remember if I cried When the last real forum finally died, But something broke me deep inside The day the music streamed. [Chorus] So bye-bye to that digital high, Drove my last tank to the ocean, watched the satellites fly by. Them old-school dreamers chasing ghosts in the night, Singing, “This’ll be the day that we rise— This’ll be the day that we rise.” [Verse 2] Did you write the script for truth, And do you trust the voice of youth When it’s auto-tuned and sanctioned so? Do you still believe in mystery? Can a playlist set you free, Or does it just tell you where to go? Well, I know you’ve been on every screen— Saw your breakdown go viral, pristine. We all stood in the light, Performing our lives every night. I was a lonely scrolling silhouette With a half-charged phone and student debt, But I knew something had been set The day the network failed. [Chorus] I started singing bye-bye to that digital high, Drove my last tank to the ocean, watched the satellites fly by. Them old-school dreamers chasing ghosts in the night, Singing, “This’ll be the day that we rise— This’ll be the day that we rise.” [Verse 3] Now for ten years we’ve curated souls, Every moment filtered, bought, and sold, But that’s not how it had to be. When the artists played for love, not streams, In secondhand coats and shattered dreams, With a fire that belonged to you and me. Oh, while the billionaires reached for Mars, The poets sang from dive-bar stars. The trial went live at ten— Justice commodified again. And while the rockets burned up in the dark, Kids spray-painted truth in Central Park, We hummed our hymns without a spark The day the server died. [Bridge – Spoken/Distorted Radio Effect] “This just in: mass disconnection reported worldwide. Authorities say millions are attempting to remember songs they once knew by heart. More at eleven—if the stream holds…” [Instrumental – Lap Steel & Electric Guitar Solo – 8 bars] (Building from mournful to defiant) [Extended Final Chorus] So bye-bye to that digital high, Drove my last tank to the ocean, watched the satellites fly by. Them forgotten voices rising up in the night, Singing, “This’ll be the day that we rise— This’ll be the day that we rise.” Yeah, this’ll be the day that we rise— This’ll be the day that we rise. [Choir Tag – Layered, Gospel-Style Fade] (Building intensity, then stripping back to solo voice) “This’ll be the day— This’ll be the day— This’ll be the day that we rise…” (Final whisper, a cappella) “…that we rise.”
