

We learned to speak in kitchens
With curtains drawn at noon
Counting every hard-won breath Like
rent was coming due
You held my shaking hand
Said we are not done (ahhhh)
Lift your head now
Let the old walls hear us
Higher, higher, we won't kneel
Ah-ah-ah,
rising through the ceiling
We rise, we rise,
not asking for pardon
Wide awake with our names in the garden
Tear the gate from the ground
Hear us turning the whole house around (oh-oh-oh)
They named the locks as law
And smiled behind the seal
But every borrowed silence
Taught our throats to heal
Now feet gather at dawn
No crown can make us small (hummmm)
Lift your head now
Let the locked doors tremble
Higher, higher, we won't break Ah-ah-ah,
carrying each other
We rise, we rise,
not asking for pardon
Wide awake with our names in the garden
Tear the gate from the ground
Hear us turning the whole house around We rise,
we rise
If they close every window
We become the air
If they write us out in ink
We sing ourselves back there (ah-ah-ah-ah)
We rise, we rise,
not asking for pardon
Wide awake, every voice in the garden
Tear the gate from the ground
We are turning the whole house around (oh-oh-oh)