I’d Rather Be Woke

(Low voice)

The rent is due, the fridge is bare

Blue light flickers in the midnight air

Wake the fuck up—look at what they’re selling

You wonder why you’re broke, why your hope runs thin

Hours cut short while the prices climb again

Your mother skips a meal to keep the heat turned on

Your kid wears last year’s shoes till the soles are gone

A boss sends one cold message: “We’re reducing staff”

While shareholders toast and call it “doing the math”

You gave them every hour, every nerve, every day

Wake up, read the fine print—take your life back today

Don’t shut your eyes

Don’t swallow blame

Ask who gets paid

When they raise the game

Who gets rich? Who pays the price?

Cut through the noise, look twice

Stand up, speak out, break the choke

Say it loud: I’d rather be woke

(Female Harmonies)

Rather be woke

Rather be free

No more silence

No chains on me

The landlord raises rent, the paycheck stays the same

A clinic turns you away because your card won’t clear the claim

A school cuts art and lunch while the stadium lights burn

A river takes the runoff, and the children cough and learn

Your neighbor works two shifts, still choosing which bill waits

A phone records your footsteps, then predicts your wants and rates

They flood the feed with outrage, keep the facts beneath the noise

So check the source, compare the numbers, make your own choice

Don’t shut your eyes

Don’t swallow blame

Ask who gets paid

When they raise the game

Who gets rich? Who pays the price?

Cut through the noise, look twice

Stand up, speak out, break the choke

Say it loud: I’d rather be woke

(Female Harmonies)

Rather be woke

Rather be free

No more silence

No chains on me

You can scroll past the eviction notice on your street

Past the nurse who lost her home while keeping yours on its feet

Or show up at the meeting, bring the names, demand the proof

Stand beside the people who are fighting for the truth

They want us split and shouting, pointing fingers in the dark

But a locked door opens faster when a hundred shoulders start

I’d rather face the facts than hide behind a screen

Raise your voice, protect your neighbor—fight for what you mean

The meter’s flashing red…

The cupboard’s almost bare…

Wake the fuck up—someone’s counting on your silence…

I’d rather be woke

Who gets rich? Who pays the price?

Cut through the noise, look twice

Stand up, speak out, break the choke

I’d rather be woke

(Female Harmonies)

Rather be woke

Rather be free

Eyes wide open

Stand with me

No more silence, no more smoke

No more lies to keep us broke

Raise your voice, refuse the yoke

I’d rather be woke

Woke, not numb

Woke, not broke

Woke, not blind

I’d rather be woke.