(Verse 1) I stood in the dust of the road that day When the branches were green and the children would play They shouted "Hosanna!" when you finally came The crowds all came out just to see this great name. Their voices rang praises, a thunderous ring They looked at your face and they called you a king. They shouted "Hosanna!"—Lord, I shouted it too Then you came... and we didn't know what to do. (Chorus) You weren't what’s expected of a king in this world No banners of silver, no banners unfurled. The crowd wants a lion, a fighter, a sword But you were a quiet and a suffering Lord. (Verse 2) The mood turned to winter, the garden was cold When they came to arrest you, just like we’d been told. But you didn't do a thing, you just stood in your grace While the spit and the shadows fell over your face. Now Barabbas? He fought. He had blood on his hands. Perhaps he deserved a crown in these lands? They’d shouted "Hosanna!" for a king with a fist But you were a king that the people had missed. (Verse 3) They called for the murderer and left you to die I stood in the shadows and I didn't ask why. They asked for the killer, then they questioned the sky Why they’d called you Messiah—then let out a cry. The same lips that praised you, now sharpened like knives The "Hosanna" was buried under "Crucify!" I watched from the corner, I watched you be led With a crown made of thorns on your weary head. (Bridge) What they did to your body, no man could survive Tortured and nailed up, barely alive. The spear in your side and the darkness so deep I thought it was over, a long, final sleep. (Verse 4) But Sunday... oh, Sunday, the light started breaking The sting of the grave and the earth started shaking. On Sunday, however, all death lost its sting The bells in my heavy heart started to ring. Some who’d shouted "Hosanna!" and then walked away Stood trembling and weeping in the light of the day. They explained through their tears, "He’s alive! He’s alive!" And the hope of the world began to revive. (Outro) Yeah, he’s alive... I shouted "Hosanna" when the branches were green. Now I know what it meant... and I know what I’ve seen. (Slow, fading fingerpicking on a minor chord resolving to major)
