Our Nation (song)

Lyrics

Verse 1
On a summer wind in Galveston the message finally came,
Riding waves of truth and thunder, breaking every chain.
Two years late but not forgotten, freedom’s bell would ring,
From porches, fields, and church-house doors, a brand-new song to sing.
Pre-Chorus
Raise the red and black and green, let the colors lead the way,
Honor all the hands that built tomorrow out of yesterday.
Chorus
Juneteenth National Independence Day,
Light the lanterns, let the children play.
From sorrow’s soil the roses grew,
A promise kept a people true.
We dance, we pray, we lift our say,
On Juneteenth National Independence Day.
Verse 2
Grandma’s stories on the breeze, sweet tea by the fire,
Names like threads through history, stitched with righteous choir.
Barbecue smoke, a drumline beat, the elders smile and sway,
Teaching us the steps they took, so we can lead the way.
Pre-Chorus
Write the names and keep them near, so none are swept aside,
Freedom is a river wide, and we are on its tide.
Chorus
Juneteenth National Independence Day,
Light the lanterns, let the children play.
From sorrow’s soil the roses grew,
A promise kept, a people true.
We dance, we pray, we lift our say,
On Juneteenth National Independence Day.
Bridge
Not just a date on a calendar page,
But a door unlatched, a turning of the age.
Freedom delayed is a lesson we keep,
Freedom defended is a promise we speak.
Carry the work, carry it on,
Until every right is written in stone.
Hand in hand, through night to dawn,
We rise; we rise as one.
Breakdown
Ring, bell, ring—let your echo find the lost;
Sing, heart, sing—count the victories, count the cost.
March, feet, march—where the road is rough and long;
Dream, child, dream—you are history’s brightest song.
Chorus
Juneteenth National Independence Day,
Light the lanterns, let the children play.
From sorrow’s soil the roses grew,
A promise kept a people true.
We dance, we pray, we lift our say,
On Juneteenth National Independence Day.Under wide and watching skies, the dawn is bold and clear,
We keep the flame for those before, and those who will appear.
Freedom’s thread in red and white and blue, with all our colors laid,
Together we remember, and together we are made.