Put the Colors Down

[Intro] Cold breath, hard ground, still we rise Different colors, same blood in our eyes [Verse 1] I learned to count losses before I counted cash Every locked door taught me how to build a path Mama kept the rent folded deep inside a jar I was young, but I could feel how heavy burdens are From the block to the bus stop, names carried weight Some wore blue, some wore red, all were born to escape They taught us pick a side like survival had a team But the hunger in our houses sounded just the same machine [Pre-Chorus] If you made it through the winter, let your brother breathe No crown is worth the life we leave beneath the street [Chorus] Put the colors down, let the whole world see You are more than where you’re from, you are what you choose to be Hands up for the ones who survived what they were shown Different roads, one heartbeat, nobody stands alone Put the colors down, let the old walls fall We can answer every scar with a promise to us all If the night tried to divide us, let the morning prove it wrong One voice from a thousand corners, one life, one song [Verse 2] I’ve seen a mother lose sleep while the sirens crossed the blinds Seen a kid memorize exits, never getting time to shine Seen a friend become a story on a folded paper page And a courtroom turn a childhood into years behind a cage Still I won’t pretend the pain disappears when we unite But a fist can stop a fist if it reaches out in time No sermon, no disguise, just the truth we carry home Every scar says we were tested, every breath says we’ve grown [Bridge] To the ones from every corner, every language, every name You can leave the cycle standing, you don’t have to feed the flame Take the lesson, leave the hatred, let the fallen guide the way We were taught to fear each other; we can teach a different day [Chorus] Put the colors down, let the whole world see You are more than where you’re from, you are what you choose to be Hands up for the ones who survived what they were shown Different roads, one heartbeat, nobody stands alone Put the colors down, let the old walls fall We can answer every scar with a promise to us all If the night tried to divide us, let the morning prove it wrong One voice from a thousand corners, one life, one song [Outro] No background owns you, no label seals your fate Survival made us brothers; unity can make us great