Summer leans toward sorrow The daylight starts to bend Old stones still tell a story That never reached its end The walls came down in silence The smoke rose with our prayers But somehow through the ashes A song was waiting there The world keeps changing faces New kingdoms come and go Each one declares forever Each one the last to know We've walked through every century With dust upon our shoes Holding on to something We could never bear to lose [Chorus] They called us stiff-necked people Maybe that was true The question wasn't stubborn The question was what's true A neck can chase the wind Or turn toward Heaven's light Every generation Chooses its true sights Turn me toward forever Turn me toward Your Name When every voice is changing Keep my heart the same A joke around the table A fiddle finds its tune A child learns his lessons We buried more than memories We planted them instead And every page of hist'ry Reminds us where we bled Strength is not the loudest Strength is not the proud Strength is building beauty When darkness gathers ‘round Not every scar is failure Not every tear is loss Sometimes faith keeps singing Long after every road is cross’d [Final Chorus] They called us stiff-necked people Maybe that was grace Holding to the covenant When history lost its place Empires fade like shadows The seasons rise and fall Still the ancient promise Whispers through it all Turn our necks toward forever Stubborn toward Your light May our neck stay steadfast While our hearts always stay kind The stones remember... The songs remember... And so do we... Maybe that's the blessing Of a stiff-necked people... © 2026- RD Wallen
