No War in My Name

[Intro – Female Spoken Word, distant, emotional] “When they say, ‘We have no choice but war,’ you still have one: to say not in my name.” [Verse 1 – Male Rap] Sirens in a language that I don’t speak, still I feel it, see the flashes on the screen, don’t need subtitles to reveal it. Middle East in every headline, every feed a burning sky, they say “targeted operations”, all I hear is children cry. In my kitchen, bills are piling, in their boardrooms, charts go up, every missile has a price tag, someone’s cashing in the blood. They dress murder up as “duty”, “honor”, “defense of the free”, but no slogan on a podium can wash that off of you or me. They call for “national unity”, they wave flags and fan the fear, but they never send their own kids where they send our volunteers. And I’m tired of being drafted in their stories, in their spin, ‘cause I never signed a contract for the nightmares that we’re in. [Pre-Chorus – Male Rap, Female soft harmonies] You can bomb across an ocean, you can pass another law, but you can’t use my silence as consent for what I saw. [Chorus – Female Lead, soulful, Male ad-libs] No war, no war in my name, no glory in your ashes, no pride in this flame. No blood, no blood in my name, I won’t carry your excuses, I reject your claim. I stand for every people, every daughter, every son – ’til the last old general learns we are many, you are one. [Instrumental – Piano & pads, 8–12 bars, gentle build] [Verse 2 – Male Rap] They say: “We must show strength now, or the world will fall apart,” but their strength is just a budget and a lobby with no heart. They don’t show you all the stretchers, they don’t show you all the pills, just the flag-draped coffins, tightly framed, for the feels. A kid in boots on desert ground, same age as my little bro, not a villain, not a hero, just a life they let go. On the other side another kid, in sneakers in a ruined street, both were born with equal worth, both reduced to “casualties”. In Tehran and in Tel Aviv, in New York and in Berlin, simple people count the prices of a war they never picked. When your gas bill feels like ransom and your fridge is running dry, that’s the echo of a missile ripping through somebody’s sky. [Pre-Chorus – Duet, more intense] They say, “We’re forced to do this”, try to wash their hands in fate, but the trigger’s still a choice – and it’s not too late. [Chorus – Duet, stronger] No war, no war in my name, no glory in your ashes, no pride in this flame. No blood, no blood in my name, I won’t carry your excuses, I reject your claim. I stand for every people, every daughter, every son – ’til the last old general learns we are many, you are one. [Instrumental – Beat break, drums & bass, 8 bars] [Bridge – Female Spoken Word, very clear, cutting] “You are more than a passport. More than a flag. You are not their permission slip. When they say, ‘We go to war,’ you still can say, ‘I don’t.’ Loudly. Publicly. Together.” [Verse 3 – Male Rap, rising, determined] Picture millions saying “no” from every corner of the map, no more bodies for their battlegrounds, no more votes for their attacks. If a soldier drops his weapon ‘cause he sees himself in “them”, if a worker quits that factory that keeps feeding war again. If a student calls the lie out in a classroom full of charts, if a nurse refuses uniforms while she’s stitching broken hearts. If an artist paints the gravesides with the names they never speak, if a rapper spells it clearly over every heavy beat. They can push another doctrine, they can stage another show, but a war without a people is a powder keg that won’t blow. We’re the fuel they always needed, we’re the hands that load the gun, when we pull ourselves back out, all their “missions” come undone. [Pre-Chorus – Both, softer then rising] You can march your tanks in circles, you can shout your threats and blame, but without our living bodies, it’s just noise without a name. [Chorus – Final Duet, anthemic] No war, no war in my name, no glory in your ashes, no pride in this flame. No blood, no blood in my name, I won’t carry your excuses, I reject your claim. I stand for every people, every daughter, every son – ’til the last old general learns we are many, you are one. No war, no war in my name, not for power, not for profit, not for any flag or claim. [Outro – Instrumental, piano & pads fading, Female Spoken Word, whisper] “They can print ‘For our freedom’ on every bomb. But it’s your voice that decides if that lie flies.”