[Intro]
Yeah
From the deserts
To the islands
All my people, listen
[Verse 1]
Brown skin, sun-baked, red clay on the sneakers
Mama fryin' plantains, auntie servin' fajitas
Granddad with the prayer hands, beads on his fingers
Tíos on the corner still talkin' 'bout leaders
We the kids of the field, kids of the freeway
Kids of the border line, caught in the delay
Cousins in the projects, cousins on the rez
Cousins in the barrio, inked up, stressed
We survived steel bars, sawdust, side-eyes
Cafeteria shame, fake flags, white lies
Scrollin' through a feed that don't show our face
Still we built every road that they drive every day
[Chorus]
Callin' all the brown tribes of America (hey!)
Rise up, this the moment that we prayin' for
It's time to be the people we been waitin' for
It's time to be the people we been waitin' for
From the block to the bay to the barrio
From the rez to the hood to the barrio
It's time to be the people we been waitin' for
It's time to be the people we been waitin' for (yeah)
[Verse 2]
We got cousins speakin' Navajo, cousins speakin' Tagalog
Spanglish in the hallway, slang that they borrowed
Food stamps, food trucks, spices in the air
Abuela light a candle, say a midnight prayer
Hood church in a storefront, choir in a circle
Tambourine shakin', kids drawin' in their journals
Preacher say, "Don't wait for some chosen one"
Then he point at the pews, "Y'all the chosen, son"
We the dream of the farmhand, janitor, maid
We the verse that our ancestors never could say
Every shade, cocoa, copper, caramel, gold
Different tongues, same drum in the soul
[Chorus]
Callin' all the brown tribes of America (woah)
Rise up, this the moment that we prayin' for
It's time to be the people we been waitin' for
It's time to be the people we been waitin' for
From the block to the bay to the barrio
From the rez to the hood to the barrio
It's time to be the people we been waitin' for
It's time to be the people we been waitin' for (yeah)
[Bridge]
We ain't fragments, we a family
From the mango trees to the maple leaves
Hands up, hearts up, face to the sky
Every shade in the crowd, that's a battle cry (hey!)
We the answer to the stories that they cut short
We the jury and the judge in our own court
Ain't nobody else comin' through that door
Look around, we the people we been waitin' for
[Chorus]
Callin' all the brown tribes of America (hey!)
Rise up, this the moment that we prayin' for
It's time to be the people we been waitin' for
It's time to be the people we been waitin' for
From the block to the bay to the barrio
From the rez to the hood to the barrio
It's time to be the people we been waitin' for
It's time to be the people we been waitin' for (yeah)