Motown • Big Band • Pop Soul • Mid-Tempo Groove ⸻ [INTRO – Horns + Tambourine + Call & Response] 🎺 Ba-da-da! Ba-da-da! BAM! (Background singers: “Mmm-hmm… we’re still here… we’re still here…”) Lead (soulful): Come on now… This one’s for every girl they tried to forget… But honey, we remember ourselves! ⸻ [VERSE 1 – Motown bounce] They got files with our names, but never knew our hearts, Just case numbers scribbled in broken parts. Foster homes like shuffled decks, Passed like secrets, bruised like wrecks. They say, “She’s troubled,” and label our skin, But never asked where we’d been. They don’t see the tears behind our fight, Or how we whisper prayers at night. (Background: “Pray at night… pray at night…”) ⸻ [PRE-CHORUS – Righteous Soul Rise] We are the girls the system forgot, Cradled by pain, raised on rot. No teddy bears or lullabies, Just screams and hands and crooked lies. 🎺 Horn swell (Background: “Crooked lies… crooked lies…”) ⸻ [CHORUS – Big Motown Harmony, anthem-like] But we’re still here — oh yes we are! Still shining like a midnight star. We’re still here — and we won’t fall, Got the strength to rise above it all. (Background: “Rise above… rise above…”) Yeah, we’re still here — through every scar, Still dreaming of who we truly are. We’re still here… we’re still here… And baby, that’s our greatest victory. ⸻ [VERSE 2 – More bounce, more soul] Some slept on floors in homes not ours, Afraid of fists behind closed doors. Some ran through alleys just to breathe, With nothing but a dream to grieve. Pillowcases packed again, New house, new rules, pretend again. No roots, no trust, no place to stay, Just new strangers every day. (Background: “Every day… every day…”) ⸻ [PRE-CHORUS 2 – Faster Push, Call & Response] They said we’re angry — of course we are. Try growing up with every scar. Try looking sweet when no one came, When mama chose crack, and daddies to blame. 🎺 Horn punches (Background: “No one came… no one came…”) ⸻ [CHORUS – Full band, bigger, brighter] But we’re still here — oh yes we are! Still shining like a rising star. We’re still here — we won’t back down, Turned our pain into a royal crown. (Background singers: “Crown on me… crown on me…”) Yeah, we’re still here — stronger by far, Still healing every hidden scar. We’re still here… we’re still here… And baby, we’re rewriting history. ⸻ [BRIDGE – Emotional, uplifting, turning point] Group homes like prisons with pink on the wall, Staff say “be grateful,” but they don’t call. Some girls turned to blades just to feel, Others to men who called pain “real.” Some sold their bodies just for a meal, Told to survive — whatever the deal.** (Background whispering: “Survive… survive…”) You see runaways — we see escape. You see rebellion — we see rape. You call us fast — we call it need. You see a problem — we just bleed. 🎺 Horns swell dramatically ⸻ [REFRAIN – Hope rising, Motown sweetness] But still, we rise with matted curls, Still dream of being little girls. Of homes that smell like Sunday rice, Of someone tucking us in at night. (Background: “Sunday rice… tuck me in tonight…”) ⸻ [VERSE 3 – Softer, poetic, this is the heart] We write poems on bathroom stalls, Pray to mirrors in hallway halls. We love like fire, even when burnt, And give our all, though never earned. We are the girls the system erased, With missing posters no one chased. But we are more than what they see — We are strength wrapped in tragedy. ⸻ [FINAL CHORUS – Key change, big Motown finish] But we’re still here — oh yes we are! Still reaching higher, going far. We’re still here — we claim our name, Not broken pieces, but burning flame! (Background: “Flame… flame… flame…”) Yeah, we’re still here — forever strong, And this time, baby, we belong. We’re still here… we’re still here… And that’s our greatest victory. ⸻ [OUTRO – Horns + Tambourine + Call & Response] 🎺 Ba-da-da! Ba-da-da! BAAAAAM! (Background: “We’re still here… we’re still here…”) Lead: For every girl they tried to break — We rise. We shine. We’re STILL here. Fade out with horns + harmonies
