Scream of History

Intro

(ta-ta-ta) drums roll, violin wails — a long, low cry

old men's and women's voices (ah) — hoarse and dry

guitar cuts like a razor, strings like a chain

dum-dum, dum-dum, rise up, rise again

Verse

They write our names in glass and code, (watching)

They tax the air we breathe, the road we own, (watching)

Algorithms vote while their pockets swell,

Counting our small joys, turning them into a bill to sell.

Screens that know your prayers, screens that know your fear,

They charge for the daylight, they charge for the year.

Old hands with ledger stains, young hearts with worn shoes,

We sing the broken ledger like a newspaper of dues.

Pre-chorus

Listen — the scream of history (scream), the scream of history (scream)

Listen — the old voices calling (call), the old voices calling (call)

Chorus

Scream of history, raise it up, raise it up — oh-oh

Scream of history, raise it up, raise it up — oh-oh

Freedom is a loud thing, tear the quiet off the wall

Scream of history, raise it up, raise it up — oh-oh

Scream of history, raise it up, raise it up — oh-oh

Verse

They patch their laws with silver thread and gilded lies,

They sell us safety while the coffers rise. (uh-huh)

Pressure like a winter on the backs of our towns,

They count the coins, they never count what's gone down.

Old women humming the names of children sold to debt,

Old men keeping time with the promises they never met.

Guitar bleeds a prayer, violin sews the seam,

We howl into the wires and watch the numbers scream.

Pre-chorus

Hear it — the scream of history (let it out), let it tear

Hear it — the old voices saying (stand), we will not bear

Chorus

Scream of history, raise it up, raise it up — oh-oh

Scream of history, raise it up, raise it up — oh-oh

Freedom is a loud thing, tear the quiet off the wall

Scream of history, raise it up, raise it up — oh-oh

Scream of history, raise it up, raise it up — oh-oh

Bridge

Break the ledger, break the code (break, break)

Rip the lines they wrote in gilded mode (rip it)

Put your hands on the strings, play something true

Strike the drum, hear the oldest voices say, "We knew."

(ah-ah) Rise, rise, raise those voices — yeah, raise them high

(uh) Stamp the ground, let the servers hear the cry

Not for sale, not for rent, not for their profit-line

Our names are not a number, our hours are not a fine

Chorus

Scream of history, raise it up, raise it up — oh-oh

Scream of history, raise it up, raise it up — oh-oh

Freedom is a loud thing, tear the quiet off the wall

Scream of history, raise it up, raise it up — oh-oh

Scream of history, raise it up, raise it up — oh-oh

Outro

(heyi ya) drums slow, violin holds the last long cry

old men's and women's voices fade into the sky (fade)

Guitar leaves a single note — a promise, not a debt

Scream of history (scream), we will not forget, we will not forget