Only in America: When the Curtains of the Night are Peeled Back

When the curtains of this night are peeled back
And we know what we’ve done in the darkness
Our bodies will choke
On the pillars of smoke
That crawl from the blazes we started

When the curtains of this night are pinned back
And the clouds are rolled up like a scroll
When the fields have all burned
But the storm has adjourned
Our sorrows, like oceans, will roll

This song’s for Walter Scott
This song’s for Emmett Till
This song’s for Philando Castile

When the curtains of this night are pinned back
And the silence is thick with a light that’s unknown
And the ashes have woven
Themselves through the ground
And the lies that were bought are now sold

When the curtains of this night are peeled back
And it’s clear what we threw on the pyre
We will shout for forgiveness
For all bearing witness
Or flagrantly fanning the fire

This song’s for Walter Scott
This song’s for Emmett Till
This song’s for Philando Castile
This song’s for Sandra Bland - modulate to G
Stephon Clark and Freddie Gray
This song’s for Rodney King
Michael Brown and Botham Jean - modulate to A
Corey Jones and Tony Green
This song’s for Martin Luther King