[Intro]
Calling the family
Calling the family, yeah
From every corner
Every corner of this land (stand up)
[Verse 1]
From the fields to the factories
From the block to the balcony
From the Geechee on the coast
To the rowhouse balcony
From the bayous, out the mud
To the boroughs in the snow
We been scattered, we been shattered
Still the same royal glow
From the blood on auction stone
To the badge and the cell gate
From the HBCU dorm
To the pews where we still wait
Every surname switched and twisted
Still the drum in every chest
Every baby with that rhythm
Got the mark of something blessed (yeah)
[Chorus]
Name all the Black tribes in America
Let the Black tribes remember, yeah
If you breathe this story in your lungs
You the tribe, you the banner, stand up
All the Black tribes in America
Let the Black tribes remember, yeah
Your Gods ain’t forgotten what they said
You a great, you a great, hold your head (hold it high)
[Verse 2]
Projects, backroads, cul-de-sacs
Sunday suits and fitted caps
Kitchen grease and braiding mats
Corporate floors and laundromats
We the choir in the storefront
We the dancers at the game
We the nurses on the night shift
We the authors with no name
We the foster kids that made it
We the aunties holding on
We the brothers getting counted
Like we numbers, not a song
But the promise in our marrow
That decree in every bone
Say the crown is in the mirror
Say the kingdom in our home (for real)
[Chorus]
Name all the Black tribes in America
Let the Black tribes remember, yeah
If you breathe this story in your lungs
You the tribe, you the banner, stand up
All the Black tribes in America
Let the Black tribes remember, yeah
Your Gods ain’t forgotten what they said
You a great, you a great, hold your head (stand up)
[Bridge]
From the cradle to the chain
To the march, to the flame
To the ballot, to the book
To the throne, say the name
If you hurt when they hurt
If you rise when they rise
Then the covenant is yours
You the tribe, you the tribe (you the tribe)
[Chorus]
Name all the Black tribes in America
Let the Black tribes remember, yeah
If you breathe this story in your lungs
You the tribe, you the banner, stand up
All the Black tribes in America
Let the Black tribes remember, yeah
Your Gods ain’t forgotten what they said
You a great, you a great, hold your head