[Intro]
[Instrumental: marching drums count five beats; brass strikes on the final beat.]

A chair was raised above the floor,
Reserved for those who ruled before.
Its legs were made of deed and chain;
Its cushion carried someone’s name.

[Verse 1]
[Call and Response: antagonist and ensemble]

[Antagonist]
My fathers signed the founding page.
[Ensemble]
Their signatures do not own the age.
[Antagonist]
My blood has guarded every gate.
[Ensemble]
Your blood is neither law nor fate.
[Antagonist]
My face is what the nation knows.
[Ensemble]
Because you barred the lens and chose
Which child appeared, which voice was heard,
Then crowned your image as the word.

[Pre-Chorus]
[Female mezzo]

No skin can prove a right to reign,
No sex can sanctify a chain.
A family tree is not a vote;
A surname is no royal coat.

[Chorus]
[Ensemble]

No throne for white men, no bloodright crown,
No skin gets a scepter, no sex bows us down.
Stand as a neighbor or step from the throne;
The table is common, the country not owned.
No throne for white men—no throne for anyone.
The age of inherited rule is done.

[Verse 2]
[Baritone: citizen tempted by the old order]

They promised me a higher chair
If I would fear the stranger there.
They said my wage was stolen south,
Then placed their profit in my mouth.
They praised my color, mocked my rent,
And called resentment government.
I saw the trick beneath the claim:
They paid me pride instead of change.

[Pre-Chorus]

[Baritone]
A paper crown, a borrowed sneer,
A cheap promotion built from fear.
I will not guard another’s gate
To earn one rung above my mate.

[Chorus]

[Ensemble]
No throne for white men, no bloodright crown,
No skin gets a scepter, no sex bows us down.
Stand as a neighbor or step from the throne;
The table is common, the country not owned.
No throne for white men—no throne for anyone.
The age of inherited rule is done.

[Bridge]
[Ensemble]

Can you stand equal without feeling small?
Can you share power and still stand tall?
Can history widen without your erasure?
Can justice replace inherited measure?
You are not asked to vanish or crawl—
Only to stop claiming ownership of all.

[Solo]
[Instrumental: guitar and cello exchange the inverted three-note motif over the 5/4 march.]

[Break]
[Female mezzo]

There is room at the table,
But no seat above.
There is work in the country,
But no caste to love.
Come without a scepter.
Come without a claim.
Come as one citizen
Among every name.

[Final Chorus]
[Choir and ensemble]

No throne for white men, no bloodright crown,
No skin gets a scepter, no sex bows us down.
Stand as a neighbor and help build the home;
No family, color or gender may own.
No throne for white men—no throne for anyone.
The age of inherited rule is done.

[Coda]
[Choir and ensemble]

Pull down the chair; let the common work begin.

[Outro]
[Unison]

No chosen fathers.
No chosen sons.
No throne above
The common ones.