The factory clock chews up the afternoon
Rain on the loading dock rust on my shoes
They stacked the odds like crates against the door
I learned to lift then learned to ask for more
You can bend the frame you can bruise the hands
You can't make a promise out of broken plans
I won't fold beneath the weight
I won't hand my name to fate
When the whole world says “Give in ”
I bare my teeth and start again
We rise we rise from the hardest ground
With a throat gone raw we make our sound
Your letter's folded by the kitchen sink
Beside the rent and the bills in red ink
You say “Come home the old place still stands”
I keep that sentence warm between my hands
Every mile has taken something I could spare
Still I meet the morning standing there
I won't fold beneath the weight
I won't hand my name to fate
When the whole world says “Give in ”
I bare my teeth and start again
We rise we rise from the hardest ground
With a throat gone raw we make our sound
If I fall don't call it finished
If I break the pieces bite
I have carried worse than this here
I have walked back into light
We won't fold beneath the weight
We won't hand our names to fate
When the whole world says “Give in ”
We bare our teeth and start again
We rise we rise from the hardest ground
With a thousand throats we shake the sound
We rise we rise no backing down
The weight can fall—we hold our ground
Hold our ground
Hold our ground
