Born To Stand

Lyrics

Verse 1 How long will you sit with your hands in your pockets, While the roof caves in and the wolves pick the lock? How long will you wait for a knock at your doorway, While the men at the table keep winding the clock? They’ll tell you the mountain is too high to climb, That the river runs deep and you’re running out of time, But the hands that built the bridges and the roads beneath your feet Are the same hands they have counted on to never miss a beat. Chorus 1 So rise up, rise up, let the sleeping thunder roll, There’s a fire in the heart of every unbought soul. You were not born to tremble, you were not born to crawl, You were born to stand together, or you’ll stand alone and fall. Let the mighty build their towers, let them polish every stone, A thousand men with courage can bring a giant to his knees alone. So rise up, rise up, let the whole world understand: The future isn’t theirs to give; it’s ours to take in hand. Verse 2 I’ve seen a farmer bow his head beneath a banker’s door, I’ve seen a mother count her change and still come up short once more. I’ve seen the ones who do the work get told to wait their turn, While the men who never plant a seed decide what fields will earn. But there’s a reckoning in silence, there’s a judgment in the years, There’s a strength that grows between us when we finally face our fears. For a chain is made of links, and a wall is made of stone, And the strongest thing a tyrant fears is people who’ve outgrown their thrones. Chorus 2 So rise up, rise up, let the sleeping thunder roll, There’s a fire in the heart of every unbought soul. You were not born to tremble, you were not born to crawl, You were born to stand together, or you’ll stand alone and fall. Let the mighty build their towers, let them polish every stone, A thousand men with courage can bring a giant to his knees alone. So rise up, rise up, let the whole world understand: The future isn’t theirs to give; it’s ours to take in hand. Verse 3 Now I don’t need you thinking like the man beside your chair, I don’t need you saying amen to prove that you belong there. Bring your questions, bring your differences, bring every honest scar, For the road to something better begins right where we are. There’s a table we can gather at, a promise we can make, A thousand little acts of good that no decree can take. And when the proud demand your silence, when the fearful say retreat, Remember that a nation isn’t marble, but the people in its streets. Bridge — Build Slowly, Then Explode And who will plant the orchard if the farmers all stand down? Who will raise the morning bell if every voice is drowned? Who will keep the lamp lit when the last brave soul is gone? You don’t wait around for daylight, friend— You get up and you carry on! Let the drums roll! Let the walls shake! Let the sleeping world awaken! Final Chorus — Full Choir So rise up, rise up, let the sleeping thunder roll, There’s a fire in the heart of every unbought soul. You were not born to tremble, you were not born to crawl, You were born to stand together, or you’ll stand alone and fall. Let the mighty build their towers, let them polish every stone, They can never own the courage that a free heart calls its own. So rise up, rise up, let the whole world understand: The future isn’t theirs to give— It’s ours to take in hand! Outro — Unaccompanied Voice, Then Choir We were born to stand. We were born to stand. Not as servants to the powerful— But as neighbors, hand in hand. We were born to stand.