[Intro] [Very short instrumental pickup] [Clean electric guitar establishes the groove] [Drums enter quickly] [No vocals yet] [Verse 1] Sunup on the chain-link line Boots in dust, punchin’ time Nine bucks and a paper cup Boss man says, “Pick it up” Mama counts the bills at home Rice and beans and a busted phone Baby sleeps on a laundry chair Truth hangs heavy in the air [Pre-Chorus] [Build vocal intensity] They keep takin’ more We keep standin’ tall One more shift, one more bill But I hear that call [Chorus] [Full vocal] [Warm 1950s-style harmony enters] We ain’t broken, we’re burned We still rise, we still learn Hands up high, hearts on fire We won’t bow, we won’t tire [Backing vocals: Hard road] Hard road, hard road [Backing vocals: Hard road] We keep marchin’ on [Backing vocals: Marchin’ on] Hard road, hard road [Backing vocals: Hard road] Till the same sun meets us all [Backing vocals: Meets us all] [Extended Electric Guitar Solo] [No vocals] [Lead electric guitar takes over] [Expressive blues-rock improvisation] [Overdriven guitar, bends, vibrato and melodic runs] [Drums and bass drive the groove] [Build intensity toward the end] [Verse 2] [Return to vocal after guitar solo] Water brown in the summer tap Kids get sick in a rental trap Church basement, folding chairs Neighbors bringin’ cans and prayers Boardroom windows, cold and clean They don’t see what the numbers mean But every face on this worn-out block Knows the weight of a skipped-out clock [Pre-Chorus] [Build vocal intensity] They keep takin’ more We keep standin’ tall One more shift, one more bill But I hear that call [Chorus] [Full vocal] [Stronger harmony than first chorus] We ain’t broken, we’re burned We still rise, we still learn Hands up high, hearts on fire We won’t bow, we won’t tire [Backing vocals: Hard road] Hard road, hard road [Backing vocals: Hard road] We keep marchin’ on [Backing vocals: Marchin’ on] Hard road, hard road [Backing vocals: Hard road] Till the same sun meets us all [Backing vocals: Meets us all] [Extended Instrumental Break] [No vocals] [Lead electric guitar moves into higher register] [Frequent string bends and wide vibrato] [Double-stop blues riffs] [Rapid pentatonic runs] [Drum fills build tension] [Most intense guitar passage of the song] [Bridge] [Drop slightly in intensity] [Lead vocal returns, direct and forceful] Let the hammer hit, let the truth ring out From the corner store to the courthouse We’re the ones they leaned on We’re the ones they prayed on Now the whole block sings back loud [Break] [Call and response] Lead: Hard road! Backing vocals: Hard road! Lead: Hard road! Backing vocals: Hard road! Lead: We keep marchin’ on! Backing vocals: Marchin’ on! [Final Chorus] [Full band] [Full harmony vocals] [Biggest vocal performance] We ain’t broken, we’re burned We still rise, we still learn Hands up high, hearts on fire We won’t bow, we won’t tire [Backing vocals: Hard road] Hard road, hard road [Backing vocals: Hard road] We keep marchin’ on [Backing vocals: Marchin’ on] Hard road, hard road [Backing vocals: Hard road] Till the same sun meets us all [Backing vocals: Meets us all] [Instrumental Outro] [No vocals] [Lead electric guitar returns] [Sustained blues guitar notes with heavy vibrato] [Final guitar statement] [Band resolves together]
