[Verse 1 - Male] Seventeen seventy-six, they stood on the land Signed their names with calloused hands Said we’re done taking orders from across the sea This ground right here is where we’re meant to be They fought through the cold and the musket fire Built a country out of sweat and desire [Chorus - Male & Female] We rose up from the red dirt and the pine Built it with our hands and a little bit of time Through the good years and the lean, we kept the dream alive How we rose… how we rose From the backwoods to the cities, from the rivers to the plains We rose… we rose… and we’re still the same [Verse 2 - Female] Wagons rolled west under open skies Families chasing room and a chance to thrive They broke the ground and built their homes from scratch Raised their kids and taught ’em how to stand up straight Through dust and drought and long hard miles They kept on going with a simple kind of smile [Chorus - Male & Female] We rose up from the red dirt and the pine… [Verse 3 - Male] Then came the years that split the land in two Brother against brother, both sides knew What it cost to hold this country together We paid in blood and we paid forever But we picked up the pieces when the smoke cleared out Fixed what we broke and kept moving south [Verse 4 - Female] Factories hummed and the railroads spread We worked the shifts and we broke our bread Sent our young ones when the world went to war Came back home and built a little more Then we reached for the moon with grease on our hands Proved once again we could still make a stand [Bridge - Both] Two hundred fifty years have come and gone We’ve had our troubles but we carry on It ain’t always pretty and it ain’t always fair But the land still calls and the people still care From the mountains to the coast, from the heartland to the shore We’re still rising like we did before [Final Chorus - Male & Female] We rose up from the red dirt and the pine Built it with our hands and a little bit of time Through the good years and the lean, we kept the dream alive How we rose… how we rose From the backwoods to the cities, from the rivers to the plains We rose… we rose… and we’re still the same Yeah we rose… we rose… [Outro - Both] How we rose… Still rising… How we rose…
