[Intro — 2 bars, low street ambience] [Dry mouth clicks, distant whistle, sparse fiddle pulse] [Verse 1] I walk past the shuttered bakery Past the bus stop torn and bent My coat still smells like alley rain And every bill got spent Old bruises in my ribs Old names inside my head But I keep both hands on the road ahead I keep both hands on the road ahead [Pre-Chorus — bass slowly rising] I have been folded down I have been dragged through dust Still I hear that small voice say Stand up, stand up, trust [Chorus — full batucada + sub-bass] I won't stay broke I won't stay low Ashes on my coat Fire in my bones I won't stay lost I know the way Ashes on my coat Still I rise today [Verse 2 — stripped groove, sung-poetry flow] The corner boys keep counting Who gets swallowed, who gets free I learned to turn my fear around And make it walk with me Every near miss left a map Every hard fall drew a line Now I read the dark like a pocket note And I take back what is mine [Pre-Chorus — harmony enters] I have been cracked wide open I have been pushed too far Still I hear that small voice say You're scarred, but you're still here [Chorus — call and response] I won't stay broke [Response: Won't stay broke] I won't stay low [Response: Won't stay low] Ashes on my coat Fire in my bones I won't stay lost I know the way Ashes on my coat Still I rise today [Bridge — sudden silence, then low vocal] Let the hard days follow Let them see me move What tried to bury my name Only taught me how to prove I came with empty hands I left with steady eyes Even in this restless crowd I found my own sky [Final Chorus — full communal chant] I won't stay broke I won't stay low Ashes on my coat Fire in my bones I won't stay lost I know the way Ashes on my coat Still I rise today [Final Rise — layered voices, batucada intensifies] Ashes on my coat Fire in my bones Ashes on my coat I rise, I rise, I rise [Outro — instruments fall away] [I rise] [I rise] [I rise]
