Lyrics

They mistook our silence
for surrender.
But we were not disappearing.
We were gathering thunder.
One breath.
One step.
Here we come.
We learned to dance where no one noticed,
between the table and the chair.
A little sway while supper cooled,
a secret rhythm in the air.
We kept the beat through working mornings,
through heavy years and sleepless nights.
Every time the world grew colder,
we kept one ember burning bright.
We were not finished.
We were not through.
The years kept changing,
but the rhythm knew.
We were gathering thunder,
quiet under skin.
Waiting for the drum to call
and wake us up again.
We were gathering thunder,
every woman, every man.
Time may change the way we move,
but it cannot stop the dance.
Gathering thunder!
Here we are!
Gathering thunder!
Just as strong!
Who brought the fire?
WE DID!
Who kept the beat?
WE DID!
One step!
RIGHT HERE!
One heart!
STILL HERE!
There were days our feet felt heavy,
days the mirror spoke too fast.
But every line across our faces
is a road that brought us back.
Now the colors move around us,
every sleeve becomes a wave.
We are dressed in all the courage
that we never learned to name.
Bare feet striking polished stone,
silver hair beneath the light.
We did not come to ask permission.
We came to take back tonight.
We were not fading.
We were becoming.
What sounded like silence
was thunder coming.
We were gathering thunder,
quiet under skin.
Waiting for the drum to call
and wake us up again.
We were gathering thunder,
every woman, every man.
Time may change the way we move,
but it cannot stop the dance.
Gathering thunder!
Hear it now!
Gathering thunder!
Shake the ground!
Left foot!
STILL STRONG!
Right foot!
MOVE ON!
Hands high!
NO FEAR!
Look at us!
WE ARE HERE!
Some mornings,
getting out of bed
was the bravest dance we knew.
One hand on the wall.
One foot on the floor.
One more breath
to carry us through.
And that was not weakness.
That was rhythm
refusing to die.
That was rhythm
learning how to survive.
So when you see us turning,
do not call it coming back.
We never left the music.
We were living inside that.
Listen.
We are the thunder now.
We are gathering thunder,
rolling through the room.
Every scar becomes a drum,
every step begins to bloom.
We are gathering thunder,
hear the floor beneath us sing.
We have carried quiet long enough.
Now let the whole world ring.
We are gathering thunder,
every woman, every man.
Time may change the way we move,
but it cannot stop the dance.
Cannot stop the dance!
Not tonight!
Cannot stop the dance!
Not this life!
Who kept the fire?
WE DID!
Who held the line?
WE DID!
Where is the music?
RIGHT HERE!
Where is the thunder?
RIGHT HERE!
They thought we had grown quiet.
We had.
Quiet enough
to hear the thunder forming.
We were never done.