[Intro – spoken/sung softly over rim-shot & bass only] Yeah… hear me now… Little bird outside my window singin’ through the storm again… Mockingbird… mockin’ bird… teach me how to rise, my friend… [Verse 1] They try to clip my wings in darkness chain my feet to concrete ground But every crack the sun still reaches every seed still pushes upward bound I’ve been broken, I’ve been scattered carried sorrow like a crown Yet your melody keeps callin’ sayin’ “Brother, don’t stay down” [Pre-Chorus] Through the fire, through the water through the nights that never end You keep singin’, never falter showin’ me I can begin… again [Chorus – full band drops in, voices lift, harmony stack] Mockingbird, oh mockingbird sing your truth into the sky Take my heavy heart and turn it into wings that know how to fly Mockingbird, sweet mockingbird carry hope on every note Remind the world we still can blossom even when they cut our throat [Verse 2] They build walls to keep us silent plant their fear in every ear But your song slips through the concrete like a river crystal-clear You don’t need no golden feathers don’t need diamonds on your breast Just a voice that keeps on risin’ provin’ life will pass the test [Pre-Chorus] Through the lightning, through the thunder through the days that feel like stone You keep liftin’, keep on wonderin’ how to turn pain into home [Chorus – bigger this time, handclaps & ad-libs] Mockingbird, oh mockingbird sing your truth into the sky Take my heavy heart and turn it into wings that know how to fly Mockingbird, sweet mockingbird carry hope on every note Remind the world we still can blossom even when they cut our— [Bridge – strip it back: just voice, nyabinghi drum, bass pulse] I was quiet… too long quiet… swallowed every bitter word Till I heard you in the distance mockin’ every lie I heard Now I’m risin’… yes I’m risin’… voice no longer locked in cage Every scar becomes a story Every tear becomes a page [Final Chorus – triumphant, full horn line, call & response feel] Mockingbird! (Mockingbird!) Oh mockingbird! (Sing it loud!) Sing your truth into the sky (Mock it high!) Take this heavy heart and burn it into wings that never die (Mockin’ bird!) Mockingbird, sweet mockingbird carry love on every breeze We gon’ blossom, we gon’ conquer rooted strong like ancient trees [Outro – voices fade into joyful scat & bird-call whistles] Mock… ing… bird… keep on singin’… keep on singin’… through the fire… through the rain… we rise… we rise… mockingbird… mockingbird… yeah…
