[Intro — knocks; paper slides] [Cole — spoken] Something with my name on it? [Third knock] Keep the envelope. What’s inside? [Bass enters] [Verse 1 — Cole] Everybody wants a signature. Nobody wants to read. Name beneath a promise— Now the promise owns the deed. Bills beneath the bills. Charged for what they pass. “Giving back the power.” Why’s the meter running fast? Uncle knows the winning slogan. Couldn’t name a single clause. Claps before he reads the changes. That’s a hand without a cause. [Flow tightens] Put a rider on the package. Someone else gets taken for one. Call the cut a fresh beginning. Whose coverage came undone? Same press smooths out the wrinkles, Prints the story, crowds the door. If the suit looks clean on camera, Who checks what it covered for? Read the room. Read the balance. Read the sentence they reduced. Some get time for what they carry. Some buy time to hide the proof. [Knock] Same flag. Different page. Check what passed While they held the stage. [Chorus — Elara sings] Can you hear us now? Can you hear us now? We’re still here When the lights go down. Every name they leave outside, Every voice beneath the crowd— We’re still here. Can you hear us now? [Verse 2 — Cole] Same booth. Same count. Fair until the lead runs out. All that iron in your voice— Now the podium needs a couch. “Nothing owed.” That was loud. Now you need another crown. Want a ribbon for competing With “I won” written down. Keep the record. Check the record. Don’t just play the part you like. Something spinning ain’t a verdict. Let the evidence decide. Check the source. Check the quote. Check the cut before you post. Half a clip becomes a courtroom. Other half denied a vote. [Screen tones] Tennessee, a finger presses. Screen shows what they didn’t choose. Check the record. Ask for help. A report is not the proof. Don’t dismiss it. Don’t invent it. Make the record match intent. Trust can take a second look. That’s what scrutiny protects. [Knocks] Down South, another doorway moved. Same right, a longer route. Bus stop didn’t move along. Whose shift lets them clock back out? Black and brown hands hold the notice. Same stamp, a different cost. If the road decides who reaches, How much of the voice gets lost? [Rapid] Watch the lines: On the map, around the block, On the script explaining why They had to change the lock. Drawing power. Draining hours. Different meanings, same address. Call the site “more efficient.” Who gets written off as less? [Chorus — Elara sings] Can you hear us now? Can you hear us now? We’re still here When the lights go down. Every name they leave outside, Every voice beneath the crowd— We’re still here. Can you hear us now? [Beat Switch — 8 bars] [Knocks rise; silence; bass impact] [Verse 3 — Cole] Sold us childhood by the season. Some kids never got their own. We could visit every afternoon. They couldn’t leave when credits rolled. Little names. Heavy credits. Owed a life beyond the screen. Who got paid, who got the billing, Who got thanked for keeping clean? Taught to hit a mark on camera. Leave a mark upon the crowd. Some were hurt by trusted adults. Who was there to call it out? “Family viewing.” Closed-door meeting. Different readings of the room. Set was built to look like home. Who could safely leave it, though? Some learned silence kept the job. Some were touched and told to smile. Adults making children older When the joke required denial. Not each scene a coded message. Not each rumor holds the truth. But a child should never need A perfect case to ask for you. [Flow tightens] Screen the show. Screen the witness. Screen the people coming through. Funny where the screening stops When the person pays the crew. They got masters. They got rights. Who had neither after wrap? Child became a household name. Couldn’t find a home in that. Some still live beneath that shadow. Some are fighting for their days. They don’t owe us neat recoveries. We don’t get to grade their pain. [Beat cuts] They could hear the smallest wrong note. How’d they miss a child saying no? [Bridge — Elara sings] Let a child say no And know somebody stays. Let a voice come through Without a price to pay. [Cole — spoken] Keep the proof above the rumor. [Elara — sung] Who protects their future? [Build — Cole] Bars in the music. Bars on the door. Bars they keep lowering— Who are they for? Read the title. Read the change. Read the part They never say. [Silence; full drums] [Final Chorus — Elara] Can you hear us now? Can you hear us now? We’re still here When the lights go down. Every name they leave outside, Every voice beneath the crowd— We’re still here. Can you hear us now? [Outro — Cole] Keep the record. Keep the receipt. Same soul. Different frequency. [Instrumental Outro — 24 bars] [Piano, violin and cello] [Drums fade; final knock echoes] [Harmony resolves; natural decay] [End]
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