#ballad #protest #anguish #raw #voiceandpiano #personwithpiano #folk #anger #catharsis From Nyxie: I was so excited to get these lyrics from Alyx. I don't usually write protest songs, and when I first read these words they sounded all metal and punky and I wanted to try fast ukulele with filters and..... And nothing like that happened. I sang the first line and heard heartbreak in it. Suddenly the "mad angry" became "angry grief" and this song became about choosing hope through despair again and again and again, and can it just stop already? This is a keening song. All chords other than the cluster chords are major, but I let my voice hold as much weight and hurt and sadness as it wanted to. It's edgy, but it's also truthful. From Alyx: I am so blown away by what Nyxie built off the lyrics I sent them. The first handful of lines landed in my head in a dream I had just before waking yesterday, and I scrambled to write them down. The rest was me trying to channel some of the rage and exhaustion of living through late-stage capitalism, the fall of empire, and the rise of fascism, and still holding onto hope because I keep seeing people doing beautiful things with and for each other amidst it all. I could not be happier with how this turned out!

We are living through things everyday We didn't see coming a month ago And so much that others were warning would happen for years (Would happen for years)

The powerful act without consequence While the empire continues to burn Choking the air with injustice And stirring up fear (Stirring up fear)

There's nothing new under the sun The patterns don't stop being spun The fascists are using a playbook We've seen before

And though they are armed to the teeth (The people will roar) And hide behind tear gas and guns (The people will roar) They will not overcome us (The people will roar!)

We will outlast them Our numbers are greater And we have the strength of conviction We will outlast them And we know that love conquers hate Even if that feels unlikely today Remember the world's what we make We will outlast them!

We're not intrinsically good And we're not irredeemably evil Humans hold both in ourselves And we get to choose (We get to choose)

No matter the weight of the world (The people will roar) Or the baggage our ancestors left (The people will roar) We can put in the work for justice and truth (The people will roar!)

We will outlast them Our numbers are greater And we have the strength of conviction We will outlast them And we know that love conquers hate Even if that feels unlikely today Remember the world's what we make We will outlast them!

We will outlast them Our numbers are greater And we have the strength of conviction We will outlast them And we know that love conquers hate Even if that feels unlikely today Remember the world's what we make We will outlast them!