[Verse 1] They fire up the great machine To see what profit it can glean They separate the loss and gain The burnin' sun from the comin' rain. They praise the harvest, golden, deep And all the promises they keep To the men who own the field... Not the ones they left to yield. [Chorus] We are NOT the chaff from the wheat! We are NOT the dust beneath your feet! This ain't progress! This is just a theft! We are the ones that you have left! [Verse 2] You called us "stubborn," "dull and rote" The sinking ship, the sinking boat. You called it "streamlining," "lean and scrappy" As long as all the shareholders were happy. You call it "freeing" us from "toil" As you scrape the meat right from the soil. You call it "peace," we call it war! We're not your byproduct anymore! [Chorus] We are NOT the chaff from the wheat! We are NOT the dust beneath your feet! This ain't progress! This is just a theft! We are the ones that you have left! [Bridge] The weaver at his broken loom! The factory hand in his empty room! The artist and the driver's dread! Are living now inside our heads! It's not a line in a history book! It's the life you stole, the time you took! [Guitar Solo] [Chorus] We are NOT the chaff from the wheat... We are NOT the dust beneath your feet... THIS AIN'T PROGRESS! THIS IS JUST A THEFT! WE ARE THE ONES THAT YOU HAVE LEFT! [Outro] We are the hands! We are the soul! We are the ones you can't control! NOT THE CHAFF! NOT THE CHAFF! © 2025 The Shady River Bard. All rights reserved.
