[Verse 1] County notice taped to the diner door New rules no one ever voted for Word shot north past the water tower South through the fields in under an hour Shift change hit and the engines rolled Farmers young mixed with veterans old Chairman stepped out, paper in hand Read three lines then faced that crowd One voice answered steady and loud “You serve this town—you don’t command” Nobody moved, nobody backed away They came to shut that order down that day [Chorus] Turn the radio up, let the whole town know We came in peace but we ain’t laying low Let a free man work, let a good town be Keep your hands off his home and family We don’t want trouble, but hear what we say A right doesn’t vanish when it gets in your way Pack up that order and be on your way We ain’t gonna live that way [Verse 2] Local AM carried it live Clear past the county on Highway Five A mother stepped up and took the mic “I work two jobs and I raise mine right My faith is mine and my home is too Neither one needs permission from you I didn’t come here to threaten a soul I came because free still means control Of the life I build and the choices I make The First speaks plain and the Second stays” Flags snapped hard in the prairie sky Nobody blinked and nobody replied [Chorus] Turn the radio up, let the whole town know We came in peace but we ain’t laying low Let a free man work, let a good town be Keep your hands off his home and family We don’t want trouble, but hear what we say A right doesn’t vanish when it gets in your way Pack up that order and be on your way We ain’t gonna live that way [Verse 3] Sun dropped low on the western road The board came back and withdrew the code No glass got broken, no fist got thrown No mother wondering if her child got home Chairman folded what he’d brought Walked through the trucks in the courthouse lot No victory lap, no victory cry Just taillights fading under that sky By six next morning the café was lit School bus stopped and the tractors kicked But nobody there forgot that day Or how a town made power give way [Final Chorus] Turn the radio up, let the whole state know We stood in peace and we held our ground Let a free man work, let a good town be Keep your hands off his home and family God above us, our people beside us The flag out front and the law behind us Ride toward the sunset, be on your way This town won’t live that way [Outro] By morning the radio played songs again Kids climbed aboard and the workday began Nothing left burning, no debt to repay Just free people living the old-fashioned way
