Raise the Banner
Days of Love and Rage: A Anthem for Unity and Liberation
Lyrics
Raise me a banner of the deepest black
Raise a symbol representing deep turmoil or struggle.
And let me see it wave
Display it proudly, make it visible.
Every city street and every railroad track
Throughout urban and rural areas.
For the Days of Love and Rage
For a time marked by both love and anger.
Raise me a banner of the people's red
Raise another symbol, this time symbolizing the people's struggles.
Every farm and every town
Across all places where people reside.
For the workers lost, for the blood we bled
For those who have suffered at work, for the sacrifices made.
And never let it down
Always keep it flying, never let it fall.
It's the same road we've all travelled
We've all experienced similar hardships in life.
From the cradle to the grave
From birth till death.
Let me hear the rumble and the rattle
Let the sounds of struggle and movement be heard.
Let the day be today
Let's act and make today the day for change.
Let the murmurs run through the marketplace
Spread messages of change in the busiest places.
To the migrant far from home
Even to those far away from their homes.
To the the young girl washing clothes
Even to the most ordinary tasks of life.
To the old man breaking stones
To the elderly who have worked hard all their lives.
You never are alone
Reminding everyone of their communal support.
It's the same road we've all travelled
Reiterating the shared experiences of hardship.
From the cradle to the grave
From the beginning to the end of life.
Let me hear the rumble and the rattle
Let the sounds of change echo today.
Let the day be today
Let's not delay in making a difference.
For the mothers and the daughters who've been shackled from birth
From oppressed mothers and daughters.
To the working class kids never told of their worth
To children deprived of understanding their value.
To the innocent shot dead in the middle of the street
Remember those innocently killed in public.
To the voice under the hand that's just been trying to speak
Those silenced but striving to express.
There are other ways to go
There are alternative paths to follow.
There are other roads to take
We can choose different ways forward.
We don't have to keep on dying for the rich man's mistakes
We need not sacrifice for the wealthy's errors.
Reach your hands out to your sisters
Unite with those close to you for change.
To your brothers and your friends
Support each other in igniting change.
Throw some fuel upon this fire or this night will never end
If action isn't taken, the struggle continues endlessly.
It's the same road we've all travelled
Reiterating the common journey through difficulties.
From the cradle to the grave
From birth till death, the same hardships prevail.
Let me hear the rumble and the rattle
Let the sounds of discontent reverberate today.
Let the day be today
Today should mark the beginning of change.
Let the day be today
Let today be the day to initiate transformation.
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