[Verse 1]
Found it on a bent-up shelf
green spine, worn to the threads
A People’s History of the United States
heavy in my hands like bread
Pages full of names I missed
factory dust and courthouse lies
You told me history ain’t a throne
it’s the floor where the hurting rise
[Pre-Chorus]
And I kept turning
turning the page
From the winners’ script
to the worker’s rage
The map got wider
my chest got tight
All those hidden voices
came alive at night
[Chorus]
A People’s History
teach me again (teach me again)
A People’s History
who paid the rent? (who paid the rent?)
Not the kings
not the polished page
A People’s History
keeps me awake
[Verse 2]
Teacher said it like a fact
one flag, one story, one line
But you pulled back the curtain slow
let the seams of power unwind
Strikes in the rain
women in the mills
bodies on the margin
signing for the bill
Now every date has a pulse
every silence got a face
The country sounds different
when you hear it from below the stage
[Pre-Chorus]
And I kept turning
turning the page
From the oldest lie
to the borrowed wage
The names came forward
plain as day
I heard my own blood
learning how to say
[Chorus]
A People’s History
teach me again (teach me again)
A People’s History
who paid the rent? (who paid the rent?)
Not the kings
not the polished page
A People’s History
keeps me awake
[Bridge]
So if you hand me the shine
I’ll look for the seam
If you hand me the anthem
I’ll ask who got seen
I want the full room
not the marble hall
I want the bread-line voices
standing tall
[Final Chorus]
A People’s History
teach me again (teach me again)
A People’s History
who paid the rent? (who paid the rent?)
Not the kings
not the polished page
A People’s History
keeps me awake
A People’s History
I sing it back (I sing it back)
A People’s History
through the crack (through the crack)
From the bottom up
to the headline stage
A People’s History
keeps me awake