Lyrics

[Chorus]
We built this land with calloused hands,
Blood in the dirt and boots in the sand.
Fought every war that they sent us to,
Came home broke, still proud and true.
Ain’t askin’ for praise or a silver track,
Just respect for the ones who never looked back.
You call us privileged—man, that’s a laugh,
This country was built on our backs.

[Verse 1]
My granddad bled on Normandy shore,
White knuckles tight in a world at war.
Came home poor, picked up a wrench,
Worked that line with a broke-down bench.
Mama cleaned houses, Daddy laid pipe,
Never had much, but they raised me right.
Now I’m told I owe for the color I bear,
Like my pain don’t count ‘cause my skin is fair?

[Verse 2]
I grew up broke, just like you,
Government cheese and no trust fund too.
Coal dust lungs, knees gone shot,
Factory shut down, still gave all I got.
Ain’t never blamed no one for my fate,
But don’t erase my past to compensate.
Respect ain’t race, it’s earned in the mud,
And we all got scars that’ve drawn some blood.

[Verse 3]
They say we got more, but we’re still behind,
Tryin’ to hold pride in a shamed white mind.
I see the pain on both our sides,
But truth don’t live in the loudest cries.
I ain’t your enemy, I’m just a man,
Workin’ these fields with these two bare hands.
So don’t preach hate in the name of peace,
We all want a table, not a bigger piece.

[Chorus]
We built this land with calloused hands,
Blood in the dirt and boots in the sand.
Fought every war that they sent us to,
Came home broke, still proud and true.
Ain’t askin’ for praise or a silver track,
Just respect for the ones who never looked back.
You call us privileged—man, that’s a laugh,
This country was built on our backs.

[Outro]
Ain’t about color, it’s about grit,
If you bled for the flag, then you part of it.
So raise that glass for the lives we live,
Built off pain—but still forgive.