[Intro — lone bass figure, sudden full-band hit] [Male lead — immediate, restrained] You said, “Welcome home.” Which home did you mean? [Verse 1 — tense, restrained] They stitched a welcome on a banner Hung it over shuttered doors Put our faces on the posters Put our files in different drawers Same dust folded in our duffels Same long flight across the sea Different questions at the counter Different weight behind “You’re free” There are medals in the window There are bedrolls in the rain And the hands that stamp our papers Never have to learn our names [Pre-Chorus — pressure rising] Tell me what you meant by freedom Tell me who gets left outside You can thank me for my service You don’t get to buy my silence [Chorus — strong melodic hook] The flag don’t cover this The flag don’t cover this You can hang it from the courthouse It won’t hide who you dismiss Don’t tell me, “That’s just how it is” That’s how it stays like this I came home I won’t look away The flag don’t cover this [Instrumental — heavy guitar response] [Verse 2 — restrained, unsettling] There are ribbons on the railings There are numbers on the doors Little shoes beneath the benches While the papers change their floors Every desk refers another Every seal conceals a name Those who whisper leave by side streets Those with money leave the same There are speeches about shelter There are rooms nobody checks And the hands that hold the records Keep deciding what comes next [Pre-Chorus — exposed voice, rising tension] Passed along until it’s nowhere Filed away until it’s dust Every office points elsewhere Who’s left holding all that trust? [Pre-Chorus — bass and exposed voice] We gave you power to protect them Not protect the men they fear If your promise ends at friendship What the hell are you doing here? [Chorus — fuller guitars] The flag don’t cover this The flag don’t cover this You can hang it from the courthouse It won’t hide who you dismiss Don’t tell me, “That’s just how it is” That’s how it stays like this I came home I won’t look away The flag don’t cover this [Post-Chorus — clipped, forceful] You saw it You saw it Don’t tell me you missed it You saw it You saw it Now tell me who you’ll stand with [Instrumental Break — 16 bars] [Guitar and electric violin trade tense phrases] [Live drums build; brief stop] [Verse 3 — exposed, personal] They ask me why I’m always angry Like I wasn’t watching then Like I only learned compassion For the ones who look like friends I’ve heard a hundred ways to tell me This ain’t what I understand But I know the sound of someone pleading With their empty, shaking hands I don’t need another standing ovation At the bottom of the seventh inning Need you standing by my neighbor When there’s nothing in it for you [Bridge — quiet, close vocal] Some nights I still sleep facing doorways Some days I leave the shopping cart Too much noise beside the checkout And the parking lot feels far But don’t use what the war did to me To explain away my eyes I can hurt and still be seeing What you’re trying to justify [Build — bass and drums enter] You don’t have to share my history You don’t have to share my skin Just stop moving where the line is When your own side crosses it [Final Chorus — powerful, melodic] The flag don’t cover this The flag don’t cover this You can hang it from the courthouse It won’t hide who you dismiss Don’t tell me, “That’s just how it is” That’s how it stays like this We came home We won’t look away The flag don’t cover this [Final Post-Chorus — band drops between phrases] You saw it You saw it Don’t tell me you missed it You saw it You saw it Now stand beside the witness [Outro — restrained lead over heavy groove] Keep the porch light burning Leave some room for who comes next If you mean what you’ve been saying There’s still time to mean it yet [Instrumental Outro — 16 bars] [Guitar and violin build into a full-band release] [Instruments gradually fall away] [Final sustained guitar chord] [Bass and kick resolve together] [Let the room decay completely] [End]
