Lyrics
[Verse 1]
They came with paper laws
And hard church eyes
Said, “Kill your words”
At the schoolhouse doors
My grandmother bit her tongue
So the babies could eat
One name in the dust
One prayer in the street
[Pre-Chorus]
But the cedar still knows
What the wind has kept
Under the floorboards
Where our elders slept
[Chorus]
Native tongue, stay alive
Native tongue, don’t die
Native tongue in my blood
Native tongue, rise high
(Stay alive)
(Rise high)
[Verse 2]
Mouths full of silence
At the supper table
Children learned shame
Before they learned a label
The priest said “civilized”
The whip said “obedience”
We hid our songs in our bones
And our names in the reeds
[Pre-Chorus]
But the drum in the hill
Keeps the old flame near
Every stolen word
Still rings in my ear
[Chorus]
Native tongue, stay alive
Native tongue, don’t die
Native tongue in my blood
Native tongue, rise high
(Stay alive)
(Rise high)
[Bridge]
Hear the old ones calling
Through the ash and stone
We were never muted
We were seeds in the soil
No fence can hold
What the river knows
No chain can bury
What the cedar grows
[Guitar Solo]
[Final Chorus]
Native tongue, stay alive
Native tongue, don’t die
Native tongue in my blood
Native tongue, rise high
Native tongue, sing again
Native tongue, won’t bend
From the first dawn light
To the last breath end
(Stay alive)
(Rise high)
Details
GeneratedJun 30, 2026
Duration4:39
LanguageEnglish
Style
1980s metal with male vocals and a native Indian feel; mid-tempo gallop with palm-muted riffs, tom-heavy drums, and ritual hand percussion tucked under the snare; verse rides tense, chugging guitars and low chant doubles, pre-chorus opens into soaring leads, chorus hits with stacked gang shouts and a tribal drum break; bridge strips to frame drum, voice, and echoed cries before the final solo; wide, gritty, arena-sized mix with dry vocals, sharp cymbal air, and earthy percussion accents, metal
Credits
Prompt byMichael Nickerson
ModelAria v5.5
Prompt
A song called Native Tongue, a song about the loss of the indigenous languages due to the Europeans forbidding them to be spoken, 1980s metal with a native indian feel, male
