[Verse 1]
Another headline
Another mother on her knees
Same black ribbon
Different faces on the screen
We change the channel
Sip our coffee
Scroll again
Tell ourselves
"It’s always been this way"
[Pre-Chorus]
But I can feel the ground
Pulling at my faith
We’re running faster now
Toward the same old grave
[Chorus]
How much more can the earth take
Before it breaks
Before it bends
How many names must we carve in stone
Before we call each other friend
Is this the story we defend
Will we be our own end
Will we be our own end (oh, tell me)
[Verse 2]
Counting bodies
Like they're numbers on a chart
Blame a border
For the hatred in our hearts
We trade our mercy
For a little more control
Every promise
Has a poison in the goal
[Pre-Chorus]
We build another wall
And call it keeping safe
But every locked door
Is another open grave
[Chorus]
How much more can the earth take
Before it breaks
Before it bends
How many names must we carve in stone
Before we call each other friend
Is this the story we defend
Will we be our own end
Will we be our own end
[Bridge]
I don’t want to raise a child
In a world that worships fire
Where color is a sentence
And kindness is retired
Are we brave enough to look
At the blood on both our hands
To say "I was wrong"
And learn to understand (oh)
[Chorus]
How much more can the earth take
Before it breaks
Before it mends
How many tears must we cry tonight
Before we finally say "no more" and mean it then
If love is the truth we pretend
Can we choose a different end
Or will we be our own end
Will we be our own end