[Verse 1:]
America's on fire,
There's protests in the street,
Her conscience has been looted,
And her soul is under siege.
Another mother's crying, as history repeats,
I can't breathe.
[Verse 2:]
God damn those 8 long minutes
Lying face down in cuffs on the ground,
Bystanders pleaded for mercy
As one, cop shoved a kid in the crowd.
When did a judge and a jury
Become a badge and a knee
On these streets?
[Chorus:]
Stay alive, stay alive,
Shine a light, stay alive,
Use your voice and you remember me,
American reckoning.
[Verse 3:]
I'll never know what it's like
To walk a mile in his shoes,
And I'll never have to have the talk,
So it don't happen to you.
Three little words written 'cross the chest
Of a twelve year old who hasn't lived life yet:
"Am I next? Am I next?"
[Chorus:]
Stay alive, stay alive,
Shine a light, stay alive,
Use your voice and you remember me,
American reckoning.
[Bridge:]
Is this a moment or movement?
Is this the tide or a flood?
Is our American reckoning?
Our story written in blood
Or in love
Or in peace?
[Chorus:]
Stay alive, stay alive,
Shine a light, stay alive,
Use your voice and you remember me,
Stay alive, stay alive,
Shine a light, stay alive,
Use your voice and you remember me,
American reckoning,
In our American reckoning.
