[Intro] [Female, hushed] Can you hear it? The old ground breathing under everything. [Male, low rap] Every breath keeps a map of the ones who came before, Every hand that held a child left a mark in the floor. We inherit more than names, more than debts, more than pain, We can choose what we carry when we walk through the rain. [Verse 1: Male Rap] I’ve seen a good heart bent by a hard year, A brave face holding back what it can’t share. The past isn’t a chain if we learn where it breaks, A seed in the dark still remembers the spring. You don’t have to be fearless to stand your ground, You can tremble and still turn the harm around. No one gets healed by a fist or a wall; Make room at the table, there’s enough for us all. [Female Response] I know the ache that you hide from the room, I know how a small kindness makes breathing resume. [Pre-Chorus: Female] What we plant in the silence will rise in the years, Let the children inherit our courage, not fear. [Chorus: Both] Hold fast, hold close, let the old hurt release, Root deep, reach out, make a shelter for peace. Different roads, one earth beneath our feet, When you call for a hand, I’ll answer, I’ll meet. [Verse 2: Male Rap] When the pressure comes down, I won’t pass it along, I’ll name what is cruel without becoming its tongue. The river keeps moving around every stone, And a wounded heart shouldn’t be left on its own. We can face what is broken with a steady gaze, Keep the truth in our hands, keep compassion in place. I’m not here to claim what was never mine, I’m here to listen, to honor the line. [Female Rap] Let the ground teach patience, let the roots hold fast, Let respect be the promise we make to the past. No borrowed feathers, no costume, no claim— Just care for this living home, and a kinder way. [Chorus: Both] Hold fast, hold close, let the old hurt release, Root deep, reach out, make a shelter for peace. Different roads, one earth beneath our feet, When you call for a hand, I’ll answer, I’ll meet. [Bridge: Female, soulful] I have watched the strong grow tired, I have heard the quiet plead. We can stop the hurt from traveling; We can give the young what they need. [Male, low rap] I look straight at the fear that would make me divide, Then I turn toward the person still standing beside. No triumph in the ruin, no glory in blame; We rebuild by remembering each other’s names. [Breakdown: Both, call and response] [Male] One for the grieving. [Female] Two for the care. [Male] Three for the children. [Female] A future we share. [Male] Four for the mending. [Female] Five for the brave. [Both] Love is the choice that the hard years can’t take. [Final Chorus: Both with Gospel Choir] Hold fast, hold close, let the old hurt release, Root deep, reach out, make a shelter for peace. Different roads, one earth beneath our feet, When you call for a hand, I’ll answer, I’ll meet. Hold fast, hold close, let our next steps be kind, Carry care for the living, leave no one behind. Different roads, one earth beneath our feet, When you call for a hand, I’ll answer, I’ll meet. [Outro: Female] The ground remembers. Let it remember our kindness.
