First they stole our bodies (I can’t cry no more) / Then they stole our sons (I can’t cry no more) / Then they stole our gods (I can’t cry no more) / And gave us new ones (I can’t cry no more)

Then they stole our beauty (I can’t cry no more) / The comfort in our skin (I can’t cry no more) / And then they gave us duties (I can’t cry no more) / And then they gave us sin (I can’t cry no more)

And then came generations (I can’t cry no more) / That helped to build this land (I can’t cry no more) / The bedrock of the nation (I can’t cry no more) / Was laid with these brown hands (I can’t cry no more) / The solace of a people (I can’t cry no more) / Was found with that new god (I can’t cry no more) / And many peaceful steeples (I can’t cry no more) / Would guide the road we trod (I can’t cry no more)

And then they stole our solace (I can’t cry no more) / And then they stole our peace (I can’t cry no more) / With countless acts of malice (I can’t cry no more) / And hatred without cease (I can’t cry no more)

A foul and dirty river (I can’t cry no more) / Runs through this sacred land (I can’t cry no more) / With every act of terror (I can’t cry no more) / They tell us where we stand (I can’t cry no more) / Five hundred years of poison (I can’t cry no more) / Five hundred years of grief (I can’t cry no more) / Five hundred years of reasons (I can’t cry no more) / To weep with disbelief (I can’t cry no more)

Our legacy is mighty (We can’t cry no more) / We can’t carry this alone (We can’t cry no more) / You have to help us fight it (We can’t cry no more) / And together we’ll be home (We can’t cry no more) / And together we’ll be home (We can’t cry no more) / And together we’ll be home (We can’t cry no more)

[By Rhiannon Giddens – Lalenja Harrington. Live at United Congregational Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, 2015]