[Intro – Banjo riff + stomping rhythm + fiddle slide] ENSEMBLE (men, rhythmic): Split the rails— split the rails— split the rails— rise! WOMEN’S ENSEMBLE: Rise, rise, Railsplitter rise— [Verse 1 – Young Lincoln] LINCOLN (energetic, hopeful): I grew up in the shadows of a cabin made of pine, but I carried in my pocket every dream that could be mine. I had nothing but a hammer, had no schooling but a few— but a man can build a future with the strength of what he chooses to do. [Pre-Chorus – Ensemble joins] LINCOLN: So I split every log like it owed me the sky— every swing saying I will not die as the man that my father told me I'd be! FULL ENSEMBLE: Let the rails hear your vow, let the wilderness see! ⭐ [Chorus – BIG, CATCHY, BROADWAY + SOUTHERN ROCK] FULL COMPANY: Railsplitter rising! Swinging through the fear! Breaking through the boundaries of a rough frontier! Railsplitter rising! Hear the timber crack! Every rail he splits is the world he lacks! LINCOLN (over them): Every swing a future— every cut a sign— If I carve my path with fire, then this whole damn nation might be mine! [Verse 2 – Young adulthood montage] LINCOLN: I worked the farms and ferries, read by fire late at night— argued laws with men of power till they said, “The boy can write.” I took cases for the helpless, spoke for folks without a name— and the whispers in the courthouse said, “That Lincoln might just rise to fame…” [Pre-Chorus – Faster, more electric] LINCOLN: So I walked into Springfield with a secondhand coat— no money in my pocket, but a thunder in my throat! FULL COMPANY: Let the rails shake the earth— let the frontier roar! LINCOLN: I was born with nothing— but I’m aiming for more! ⭐ [Chorus Reprise – louder, wilder] FULL COMPANY: Railsplitter rising! Hear the anvil ring! Hear the fiddle calling— hear the young man sing! Railsplitter rising! Lift your voice in time! From the fields and cabins to the courthouse line! [Bridge – Women ensemble soft, under a spotlight] WOMEN: Rise from sorrow… Rise from dust… Rise from promises the past can’t trust… MEN: Rise from the chains… Rise from the pain… Rise till your truth becomes a flame… [Lincoln Solo – defining moment] LINCOLN: If I’ve split a thousand rails, I can split a thousand lies— I can carve a brighter country from the fear behind our eyes. I can rise beyond this hunger, beyond scars I had to hide— I can rise for something greater than the battle in my mind! ⭐⭐ [FINAL CHORUS – EXPLOSIVE BROADWAY FINALE] FULL COMPANY: Railsplitter rising! Let the whole world see— a poor boy’s fire for a new country! Railsplitter rising! Swing the truth like steel! From the rails he carried to the fate he’ll feel! LINCOLN (last line, huge): I will rise till the rising becomes real!
