[Intro - Single Voice, Quiet] In the dark... can you hear it? Footsteps. Heartbeats. [Verse 1] Do you hear the people sing for change In the alleys where the lanterns swing low? Where a loaf of bread costs a full day's wage And the river runs where we cannot go. There is a girl who mends the flags at night With thread pulled from her own wedding dress There is an old man teaching how to write The words: "We shall accept no less." Do you hear the people sing for change? Singing out for a world to be new It is the music of the tired and brave Of the many, not the few. Will you stand when they tell you to wait? Will you stand when they tell you to kneel? Do you hear the people sing for change? It is the sound of a wound trying to heal.[Chorus] [Verse 2] Do you see the children in the square With their feet wrapped up in newspaper and twine? They've never known a sky that felt fair They've never known a bread that felt like mine. But tonight there is a look in their eyes That I have never seen before It's not anger, it's not compromise It's a hand upon a closing door. [Chorus - Louder, More Voices Join] Do you hear the people sing for change? Louder than the drums and the guns It is the future calling out your name It is the rising of a thousand suns. When the mighty count their gold and their chains We will count every vow that they broke Do you hear the people sing for change? It is one fire from one single spark. [Verse 3 - Women] We are the mothers who have buried sons For a war that no one could explain We are the daughters who will not be the ones To live and die and live in vain. We have washed the blood from off the stones We have prayed over empty beds Now we will build with our own hands and bones A roof of hope above our heads. [Verse 4 - Men] We are the workers with nothing to lose But the shackles around our feet We have no silver, we have no shoes But we have the heart that will not beat defeat. We built their palaces, we built their roads We carried all their heavy weight Now we will lay down those heavy loads And build a different gate. [Bridge - Quiet, Hymn-like] Oh, my brother, oh, my sister, is it too late? Is the night too far gone? Every prison was once called fate Until someone said: "We will carry on." What is a life if you never stand? What is a breath if you never dare? Give me your hand, brother, give me your hand And sing that we were there. [Breakdown - Chanted] We will not kneel! We will not beg! We will not break! We will not bend! [Verse 5 - Hopeful, Building] On the barricade of tomorrow We will lay our fears to rest We will trade this cup of sorrow For a future we have blessed. Not with vengeance, not with flame Not with hatred in our eyes But with bread, and work, and a new name And a truth that never dies. [Final Chorus - Full Choir, Anthem] DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING FOR CHANGE? Rising from the dark to the light! It is the anthem of the ones unafraid Who will not sleep tonight! We will sing though our voices crack and strain We will sing through the tears and the rage DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING FOR CHANGE? [Outro - All Voices Fading Slowly] Hear us sing... Hear us sing... We are singing... For change. For change. For change.
