[Verse 1] When the morning paper trembles from a headline and a lie, When the anchor's voice is softer — or they tell him not to try, When the courthouse steps are crowded with a chant you cannot name, And the same old truth is changing faces just to dodge the blame. [Pre-Chorus] They build a thousand reasons out of fear and out of pride, Call it saving us from chaos while they tighten up the tide. [Chorus] When freedom of speech is dying, who will sing the songs we need? When the mic is given only to the ones who plant the seed, Hold your words like embers, keep them warm against the night — If we let them mute the chorus, we will lose the light. [Verse 2] They write the rules in memos and they pin them to the gate, Gatekeepers decide for us what we can love, or hate. A pardon for the loudest, silence for the rest, History is witness — the loud are not always best. [Pre-Chorus] They dress the threats as safety, sell it as a new sunrise, But the checklist is a shortcut where our liberty then dies. [Chorus] When freedom of speech is dying, who will sing the songs we need? When the mic is given only to the ones who plant the seed, Hold your words like embers, keep them warm against the night — If we let them mute the chorus, we will lose the light. [Bridge] Not only for the polished, not only for the pure, Our voices are the ballast when the currents stir. Let dissent be not a danger, let debate be not a crime — If truth is only echoed, we will squander time. [Breakdown - spoken / soft] They'll tell you they're protecting you — a constant, guarded cry. But liberty is louder than a nicely worded lie. [Chorus — fuller, layered] When freedom of speech is dying, who will sing the songs we need? When the mic is given only to the ones who plant the seed, Hold your words like embers, keep them warm against the night — If we let them mute the chorus, we will lose the light. [Outro] So speak for the quiet corners, speak for what we can't revive, For a nation still remembering what it means to be alive. When freedom of speech is dying, be the voice that stays — Light the stubborn candle, let it burn through darker days.
