I Rise (Live at the Coliseu dos Recreios, Lisbon, Portugal, 1/12-23/2020)

[Intro]
I wrote this song, "I Rise", as a way of giving a voice to all marginalized people. People who don't have the opportunity to speak their mind. People who are in jail, incarcerated, bullied, beaten, abused, all people who feel that they are being oppressed. I hope that this song gives people hope and courage to be who they are, and to not be afraid to be who they are, and speak thеir mind, and to love themselvеs. Because you can't love other people unless you love yourself

[Pre-Chorus]
I'm goin' through it, yeah I know you see the tragic in it
Just hold on to the little bit of magic in it
I can't break down now
I can't take that now
Died a thousand times
Managed to survive
I can't break down now, I can't take that (I can't take that)

[Chorus]
I rise, I rise
I rise up above it, up above it
I rise, I rise
I rise up above it all

[Verse 1]
There's nothin' you can do to me that hasn't been done
Not bulletproof, shouldn't have to run from a gun (Gun)
River of tears ran dry, let 'em run
No game that you can play with me, I ain't won

[Pre-Chorus]
'Cause I'm goin' through it, yeah I know you see the tragic in it (Alright)
Just hold on to the little bit of magic in it (Yeah)
I can't break down now
I can't take that now (I can't take that now)
Died a thousand times
Managed to survive (I managed to survive)
I can't break down now
I can't take that (I can't take that)

[Chorus]
(I rise) I rise, I rise
(Rise) I rise up above it, up above it
(I rise) I rise, I rise
(Rise) I rise up above it all

[Verse 2]
I managed to survive (B.S.)
Freedom's what you choose to do with what's been done to you
No one can hurt you now unless you want them to
(Unless you want)
No one can hurt you now unless you love 'em to (B.S.)
Unless you love 'em to

[Pre-Chorus]
'Cause I'm going through it
Yeah, I know you see the tragic in it
Just hold on to the little bit of magic in it (Magic in it)
I can't break down now
I can't take that (I can't take that)

[Chorus]
I rise, I rise
I rise up above it, up above it
I rise (I won't back up), I rise (I won't give up)
I rise up above it all

[Outro]
Yeah, we gonna rise up (I will rise)
Yeah, we gonna rise up
Yeah, we gonna get up
Yeah, we gonna get up
Yeah, we gonna get up
Yes, we can, we can get it together (I will rise)
We'll rise up, we can get it together
Yeah, we gonna rise up (I will rise)
Yeah, we gonna rise up
Yeah, we gonna get up
Yeah, we gonna get up
Yeah, we gonna get up
Yes, we can, we can get it together (I will rise)
We'll rise up, we can get it together
I will rise
I will rise
I will rise
I will rise
I will rise
I will rise
I will rise
I will rise
I will rise
I will rise
Power to the people!
Thank you and goodnight!

[Spoken: James Baldwin]
"Love has never been a popular movement and no one’s ever wanted really to be free. The world is held together, really it is, held together, by the love and the passion of a very few people."