The Rebel Loon Calls

[Verse 1] By the river cold in Minneapolis town Where the tall cranes creak and the trains roll down They raised their tents by the razor wire With cardboard shields and a borrowed choir We were tired of the lies and abusers there Of families split on the concrete stairs So we painted wings on a weathered sign A red-eyed bird for a ragged line [Chorus] Hear the cry of the rebel loon Calling out under tear-gas moon From the chain-link fence to the frozen dune We will rise We will rise like the rebel loon We will rise We will rise like the rebel loon [Verse 2] When the vans rolled up in the dead of night With the tinted glass and the dull blue lights We locked our arms We refused to part You could hear that call from a breaking heart Through the pepper spray and the plastic shields Through the shouted lies and the trampled fields Still the painted bird on the tattered board Stayed fixed and fierce as a warrior’s sword [Chorus] Hear the cry of the rebel loon Calling out under tear-gas moon From the chain-link fence to the frozen dune We will rise We will rise like the rebel loon We will rise We will rise like the rebel loon [Bridge] Oh they said go home We said “this is home” From the frozen stones to the steel and chrome Every cage you build Every name you take There’s a wild Low cry that you cannot break (hey!) [Chorus] Hear the cry of the rebel loon Calling out under tear-gas moon From the county jail to the courthouse room We will rise We will rise like the rebel loon We will rise We will rise like the rebel loon