[Intro — Morrow, quiet] We belong to Earth Earth does not belong to us Remember the dead But do not kneel Love what came before you Choose what you carry still [Circle — softly answering] Ask Don’t assign Give Don’t claim Stand beside Not above Root to root Hand to hand [Verse 1] My mother put my hand to stone Said feel what holds beneath your bones Know what yields Know what stays Know the ground beneath your name I heard duty She meant wonder I heard weight She meant each other Spent half my life afraid that roots were only chains with prettier words [Pre-Chorus] But the ground never asked me to kneel Never asked me to disappear It only held It only waited It only said You are here [Chorus] We belong We belong Not above Not alone We remember We decide We leave something living on the other side No blood required No debt to prove What we carry forward is what we choose We belong to Earth And that is enough [Verse 2] Speak the names of those before Set a place beside the door Pour the water Light the flame Love the dead But keep your name An ancestor may offer wisdom A spirit may appear A dream may knock against your window You decide what enters here [Circle] A vision is not a chain A calling is not a claim A gift is not a debt Your answer may be No [Pre-Chorus] Nothing holy needs your silence Nothing sacred needs your fear If a god demands you lose yourself You do not owe that god your ear [Chorus] We belong We belong Not above Not alone We remember We decide We leave something living on the other side No blood required No debt to prove What we carry forward is what we choose We belong to Earth And that is enough [Verse 3] Plant the seed Repair the wall Teach the hand that comes after yours Leave a book Leave a song Leave a place where someone belongs Power fades Bodies end Blood can break and lines can bend But something given without a chain can take new root and rise again [Bridge — Morrow] A gift is not a sentence A root is not a chain Love does not require me to surrender my own name So ask me what I’ll carry I’ll ask the same of you Then put our hands together and choose what we will do [Circle — growing] ASK DON’T ASSIGN GIVE DON’T CLAIM REMEMBER DON’T OBEY STAND BESIDE NOT ABOVE [Drums build] No crown No throne No single voice speaks for the whole No chosen blood No sacred line Your life is yours And so is mine [Breakdown — heavy, grounded] WHAT WE CHOOSE WE CARRY WHAT WE LOVE WE TEND WHAT WE LEARN WE TEACH WHAT WE BREAK WE MEND WHAT WE PLANT MAY OUTLIVE US WHAT WE GIVE MAY GROW THE GROUND KEEPS NOTHING THE WAY WE OWN IT KEEPS WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND [brief silence] [Final Chorus — full circle] We belong We belong Not above Not alone Every hand upon the Earth Every life of equal worth Remember the dead Protect the living Take what was given and make it worth giving No blood required No debt to prove What we carry forward is what we choose We belong to Earth Earth does not belong to us [Voices answering] We belong We belong [Morrow] And if you ask me what I’ll carry— [Circle] We’ll ask the same of you [All] What we choose to carry we carry together [Outro — quiet] Hand to ground Heart to heart Nothing owned Nothing apart We are here We belong.
