[Verse 1]
Been workin’ this line
With my back bent low
Every promise you made
Went cold in the snow
I wore your easy words
Like a Sunday suit
Now I’m checkin’ the ledger
And the truth comes through
[Pre-Chorus]
I gave you my labor
My name and time
You kept the feast
Left me the crumbs and wine
But the stones in my throat
Turned into a song
And the whole room knows
What was owed all along
[Chorus]
Gimme my reparations
Gimme my reparations
You can’t keep that debt on me
Gimme my reparations
Gimme my reparations
Lord, let my whole life breathe
[Verse 2]
I seen the fine print
On the back of my dreams
It was signed in ash
And it tore at the seams
I learned how to pray
With a chip on my shoulder
Now I lift my hands
And I’m standing bolder
[Pre-Chorus]
I gave you my labor
My name and time
You kept the feast
Left me the crumbs and wine
But the stones in my throat
Turned into a song
And the whole room knows
What was owed all along
[Chorus]
Gimme my reparations
Gimme my reparations
You can’t keep that debt on me
Gimme my reparations
Gimme my reparations
Lord, let my whole life breathe
[Bridge]
If mercy is due
Then mercy comes clean
If justice is real
It’ll find me
I’m not asking for luxury
Just what you denied
A little oil for the wound
And a promise that’s right
[Final Chorus]
Gimme my reparations
Gimme my reparations
You can’t keep that debt on me
Gimme my reparations
Gimme my reparations
Lord, let my whole life breathe
Gimme my reparations
(oh, gimme my reparations)
Gimme my reparations
(yes, Lord, set me free)