Living Roots

Lyrics

[Verse 1] I drove the iron stake where the creek bends west, Built my roof from cedar, laid the stone by hand. Beans climb twine beside the apple trees, Rain fills barrels; the good earth feeds. No banker owns the water I can save, No lord can name the seed I plant. I mend, I trade, I make enough to stand— A pioneer with dirt beneath my hands. [Chorus] I will not bow to the war-makers’ throne, Nor trade my living roots for borrowed gold. Let the cartel count its towers and chains— I’ll grow a freer life from honest rain. Against the crown, the boardroom, and the lie, I keep my body, mind, and spirit alive. [Verse 2] They pour their poison through the pipes and fields, Call it progress while the sick pay bills. They sell us hunger wrapped in shining things, Then sell distraction till the conscience dims. Their polished screens make cruelty a game, Their hollow idols teach us not to care. I turn the noise down; hear the soil breathe— There is a truer road than what they sell. [Chorus] I will not bow to the war-makers’ throne, Nor trade my living roots for borrowed gold. Let the cartel count its towers and chains— I’ll grow a freer life from honest rain. Against the crown, the boardroom, and the lie, I keep my body, mind, and spirit alive. [Bridge] Oligarch and aristocrat, your walls will crack; The hands that feed the world are taking back The right to heal, to think, to choose, to build— A common table, tended, shared, and filled. [Verse 3] My neighbors bring their tools at harvest time, We save the seed and pass along the skill. No empire taught the orchard how to bloom; No bought applause can tell a heart its truth. I’ll raise a child who knows the names of birds, Who sees a person, not a market prize. The old machine can roar against the dawn— We plant our freedom, row by stubborn row. [Final Chorus] We will not bow to the war-makers’ throne, Nor trade our living roots for borrowed gold. Let the cartel count its towers and chains— We’ll grow a freer life from honest rain. Against the crown, the boardroom, and the lie, We keep our bodies, minds, and spirits alive. [Outro] A seed in the ground, a roof that we made, A clear-eyed heart that no screen can trade.