The Color Of My Skin

[Verse 1] Old man sleeping in a parking lot Young kid praying that the rent gets caught Factory smoke and a church bell ring Different roads, same suffering Mama works through another shift Back bent down just to make ends meet Some wear diamonds, some wear scars Still we all stare at the same dark stars [Pre-Chorus] We bleed, we bruise We win, we lose Every hand gets dirty Walking in these shoes [Chorus] The color of my skin Don’t change the soul within Red blood runs through every vein Same cold hurt, same hard rain (Whoa-oh-oh) You and me Ain’t as different as they say (Whoa-oh-oh) Fear builds walls Love tears ’em away No, the color of my skin Can’t hide the human underneath [Verse 2] Politicians shouting on TV screens Selling fear like a gasoline dream Meanwhile down on these broken streets People still helping strangers eat Farmer’s hands and a banker’s tie Both get buried when it’s time to die And somewhere a little child still learns Hatred’s something this world returns [Pre-Chorus] We rise, we fall Same sky above us all Every lonely heartbeat Still answers the call [Chorus] The color of my skin Don’t change the soul within Red blood runs through every vein Same hard truth, same shared pain (Whoa-oh-oh) You and me Ain’t as different as they say (Whoa-oh-oh) Fear builds walls Love tears ’em away No, the color of my skin Can’t hide the human underneath [Bridge] We built whole walls from shades of skin While the real war lived within Still fighting over borrowed fear While the rich pour poison in our ears But down here where the real hearts beat People still pull each other from the heat Still singing loud when the night gets long Still finding hope inside a song [Breakdown] (Sung like a crowd choir) Same moon rising Same wind blowing Same hearts breaking Without us knowing [Final Chorus] The color of my skin Never made a saint or sin We all leave footprints in the dirt We all know laughter, we all know hurt (Whoa-oh-oh) Side by side Underneath these city lights (Whoa-oh-oh) When the curtain falls We all fade the same at night No, the color of my skin Will never be the whole of who I am [Outro] One world turning One soul burning One voice singing “We belong”