[Intro]
Hands up
Heads high
From the red clay dirt
To the bright blue sky (yeah)
[Verse 1]
We came from fields
From factory floors
Front porch prayers
And boarded-up stores
Grandma humming
While the pot stayed hot
Uncle in the back room
Tuning up his shot
We learned that pledge
But we bled our own
Turned broken glass
Into stepping stones
From HBCU halls
To the corner spot
Same heart, same hope
Same God we got
[Chorus]
One people, one nation, one body
Hands raised up for everybody
From the tribes of the block to the bayou
God’s love in the veins that we walk through
One people, one nation, we’re breathing
New song, new flag, new meaning
We pledge our allegiance to the people
Till every last voice feels equal (yeah)
[Verse 2]
From Geechee shores
To the Chi-town cold
Braids and fades
And our Sunday clothes
Black-eyed peas
On a New Year’s plate
Mama say “We blessed”
Even when it’s late
We built their walls
Then we built our own
From hush-toned hymns
To a microphone
Harlem brownstone
To the Southern pine
Different roots, same fruit
Same holy sign (hey!)
[Chorus]
One people, one nation, one body
Hands raised up for everybody
From the tribes of the block to the bayou
God’s love in the veins that we walk through
One people, one nation, we’re breathing
New song, new flag, new meaning
We pledge our allegiance to the people
Till every last voice feels equal
[Bridge]
This for the elders
This for the youth
This for the march
And the courtroom proof
This for the names
That the walls still hold
This for the future
We already told (already told)
[Chorus]
One people, one nation, one body
Hands raised up for everybody
From the tribes of the block to the bayou
God’s love in the veins that we walk through
One people, one nation, we’re breathing
New song, new flag, new meaning
We pledge our allegiance to the people
Till every last voice feels equal (one people)
Till every last voice feels equal (amen)