Virgin Mary, Be the Light

Intro

Hush, hush, madre (shh, shh)

Footsteps in the dust, in the dark — hold on

Oh-oh, oh-oh

Verse

We came with old suitcases and new songs

Names on paper, names in prayer (names in prayer)

Crossed the river where the water learned our language

Carried our hunger like a secret under our coats

Kids with small hands, counting stars they haven't owned

Mama said: keep walking, keep walking (keep walking)

Pre-chorus

There’s a light in the shape of a woman (oh)

A cloak like an ocean, a quiet drum

She hums the road into a home (ma-ma-Madre)

(la-la) hold me, hold me

Chorus

Virgin Mary, wrap us in your blue (wrap us, wrap us)

Virgin Mary, keep us, keep us true

Lead us by the palm of your hand (ay, ay)

Guide the tired feet to softer land

Virgin Mary, hear our call (hear our call)

Stand between the walls and let us fall — into your arms

Virgin Mary, be the light we follow through it all

Verse

Border flags and telephone wires, the map folds like a prayer

We whisper names into the wind — abuelo, Ana, Manuel

Smoke from cooking fires, a lullaby in two tongues

A woman on a hill with a lantern made of mercy (ooh)

She stitches worn-out shoes with threads of morning

She stitches our names into the hem of the sky

Pre-chorus

When the guards look away, she takes our breath (shh)

When the night gets loud, she sings it down

(na-na) soft as church bells after rain

Keep walking, keep walking (keep walking)

Chorus

Virgin Mary, wrap us in your blue (wrap us, wrap us)

Virgin Mary, keep us, keep us true

Lead us by the palm of your hand (ay, ay)

Guide the tired feet to softer land

Virgin Mary, hear our call (hear our call)

Stand between the walls and let us fall — into your arms

Virgin Mary, be the light we follow through it all

Bridge

Madre, cuida (cuida), madre, escucha (escucha)

(la, la) we cradle the small ones close

Pray for the ones sleeping under borrowed roofs

Pray for the ones who lost their shoes

She answers with an open shawl (open shawl)

She answers with a candle on the shore (on the shore)

And when the morning opens like a door — we go

Chorus

Virgin Mary, wrap us in your blue (ooh, ooh)

Virgin Mary, keep us, keep us true

Lead us by the palm of your hand (take us, take us)

Guide the tired feet to softer land

Virgin Mary, hear our call (hear our call)

Stand between the walls and let us fall — into your arms

Virgin Mary, be the light we follow through it all

Virgin Mary, be the light we follow through it all

Outro

(la-la) Hush, hush, madre — we’re coming home

Oh-oh, oh-oh