Fingerprints on the Bricks

SPOKEN INTRO — PIANO AND SOFT ORGAN You can change the words on the page, Take the photograph off the wall. But the hands that helped build this nation Left a mark beneath it all. VERSE 1 In the fields before the morning, In the mills beyond the light, Hands held down by chains and sorrow Built a future out of sight. Though the wages were denied them, Though their names were swept aside, They passed down a fierce tomorrow: Keep your faith and keep your pride. PRE-CHORUS Hear the footsteps of our mothers, Hear our fathers calling still. Every door they pushed wide open Took a courage strong and real. CHORUS — FULL CHOIR You can't erase the fingerprints, You can't erase the names. Through the blood and sweat and sacrifice, Our story still remains. From the fields into the classrooms, Hear our voices fill the air: We helped build this home, America, And we ain't going anywhere. VERSE 2 Garrett Morgan saw a danger, Found a way to help us see. Johnson worked the flight-path numbers, Jackson broke the ceiling free. Carver searched the soil for answers, Found new promise in the land. Every breakthrough left a witness, Every dream another hand. PRE-CHORUS There are names beyond the headlines, There are lives no statues show. But the work of generations Runs through everything we know. CHORUS — FULL CHOIR You can't erase the fingerprints, You can't erase the names. Through the blood and sweat and sacrifice, Our story still remains. From the fields into the classrooms, Hear our voices fill the air: We helped build this home, America, And we ain't going anywhere. VERSE 3 — RHYTHMIC SOUL Rosa held her seat with courage, Martin called us toward the light. Thurgood carried truth to courtrooms, Shirley stood to claim her right. Black troops marched beneath the banner, Seeking freedoms still denied. Families built their schools and churches, Keeping hope and love alive. BRIDGE — HALF-TIME, BUILDING In the songs Aretha lifted, In the rhythm James laid down, In the teachers and the nurses, In the shops across our towns, There's a history still breathing, There's a future taking form. Tell the children where we came from— How we carried through the storm. CALL AND RESPONSE — LEAD AND CHOIR Who laid the foundations? (Our hands were there!) Who kept hope alive? (Our hearts were there!) Who belongs in the story? (Our names belong!) And the children coming after us (Will carry it on!) FINAL CHORUS — TRIUMPHANT, FULL CHOIR You can't erase the fingerprints, You can't erase the names. Through the blood and sweat and sacrifice, Our story still remains. From the fields into the classrooms, Hear our voices fill the air: We helped build this home, America, And we ain't going anywhere. OUTRO — CHOIR, SOFT We remember. We declare. Our story lives— And we ain't going anywhere. SPOKEN — MUSIC FADES Look closely at the bricks. Our fingerprints are there. END