Lyrics

Verse 1
On the front porch swings and sidewalks wide,
Paper flags in a summer tide,
Fireflies stitching gold in the blue,
Neighbors waving like they always do.
From the courthouse steps to the high school lawn,
A brass band warms up “Carry On,”
Kids with chalk on the pavement say
Happy Independence Day.
Pre-Chorus
There’s a hush before the marching drums,
A promise on the air that comes,
Like a story learned by heart and told again.
Chorus
Light up the sky, let the echoes roll,
Red, white, and a thunder in the soul,
Freedom’s a song that we still play,
Made of the work and the will it takes.
Hold up a hand to the falling sparks,
Count the beats between the arcs,
We are a chorus brave and brave—
Singing Independence Day.
Verse 2
Grandma folds a checkered cloth,
Sets out pie like a sacred troth,
Talks of names carved in weathered stone,
Letters sent when the fields were sown.
Down the block, someone tunes a string,
Old guitar with a copper ring,
Plays a hymn that the night knows well,
How the darkness breaks and fell.
Pre-Chorus
Hear the stride of a million feet,
Footsteps through a hundred streets,
All the miles it took to stand right here.
Chorus
Light up the sky, let the echoes roll,
Red, white, and a thunder in the soul,
Freedom’s a song that we still play,
Made of the work and the will it takes.
Hold up a hand to the falling sparks,
Count the beats between the arcs,
We are a chorus brave and brave—
Singing Independence Day.
Bridge
Not a promise kept by wishing,
Not a dream that sleeps unending,
It’s hands and voices, mending, building,
Flags are more than colors waving.
Every story braided through us,
Every scar that had to school us,
Every dawn that says begin again.
Breakdown
Oh, ring out the bell and the summer rain,
Let the streets remember every name,
From the quiet ones to the ones who led the way.
Final Chorus
Light up the sky, let the echoes roll,
Red, white, and a thunder in the soul,
Freedom’s a song we learn and make,
Every risk and every brave mistake.
Hold up a hand to the falling sparks,
Count the beats between the arcs,
We are a chorus, brave and brave—
Singing Independence Day.When the smoke drifts low and the night turn mild,
Carry home that fearless child,
Tuck the flag, let the ashes fade,
Keep the fire we made—
Independence Day.