[intro – faint heartbeat rhythm, low piano chord] (softly) If there is no struggle… there is no progress. They told us that. Now we live it. [verse 1 – spoken, intimate tone] They want the rose, but not the soil it grew from. They want the light, but not the burn that made it dawn. They quote the freedom, but not the fight, They take the victory, but skip the night. Every chain I break got a name on it — Every scar I wear got a prayer in it. Progress don’t walk in silk shoes, It limps, it bleeds, it fights for proof. [hook – softly sung, echoing voice over bassline] (Mm… no progress without pain…) (Mm… no sunrise without rain…) [verse 2 – rhythmic spoken delivery, sharper tone] The system don’t give, it takes breath first. Every gain we make been paid in thirst. Don’t tell me to wait — I was born delayed, Every second I stand is a debt repaid. We built this world with our broken hands, Raised the future on unpromised land. They call us “angry” — but anger’s just fire, And fire makes light when you climb out the wire. [hook – repeat, harmonized female vocal sample behind it] (Mm… no progress without pain…) (Mm… no sunrise without rain…) [verse 3 – powerful crescendo, sermon-like delivery] Don’t fear the fight — fear the comfort that kills it. The lie that chills it. The hand that stills it. Struggle ain’t punishment, it’s the forge. You want the crown? Step through the scorch. Frederick said it, and it still rings clear — No change comes cheap, no freedom free, my dear. They take our sound, our strength, our songs, But they can’t touch the reason we’ve stayed this strong. [bridge – low voice, almost a whisper] Progress ain’t clean — it’s a wound that heals slow. It’s the march in your chest, the “no” that still grows. [final verse – firm, rising energy] So let ‘em say “too loud,” let ‘em call it rage, We been writin’ freedom since they gave us a cage. Struggle’s the language, progress the verse, We ain’t cursin’ the dark, we lightin’ the earth. [outro – heartbeat fades, piano note lingers] If there is no struggle… There is no progress. That’s not pain. That’s birth.
