[Intro]
Morning enters through a shattered sign.
Dust has covered every golden line.
A child finds glass beneath a chair—
One broken word is shining there.

[Verse 1]
She lifts the piece marked “Truth” in white,
Turns it slowly toward the light.
It shows one eye, then brick, then sky,
No king, no crowd, no printed lie.
Her mother sweeps the studio floor,
Where cables sleep beside the door.
“The sirens stopped,” the young girl says.
Her mother answers, “Not for always.”

[Chorus]
Wake before the sirens own the dawn.
Wake while every window passes warning on.
Wake before the sirens, before the locks align.
Freedom is a daily verb, not gold upon a sign.
Wake before the quiet learns to reign.
What we do each morning keeps it human, keeps it plain.

[Verse 2]
Outside, the square has lost the stage.
Neighbors study the missing page.
A clerk explains how records stay.
A teacher brings the names erased away.
The former marcher serves the food.
The anchor answers questions, not the mood.
No anthem hides the work from view.
The city learns what hands must do.

[Pre-Chorus]
The danger did not vanish with one man.
The hunger for a crown outlives a plan.
The golden lie can change its face and name.
A frightened nation still can feed the same.

[Chorus]
Wake before the sirens own the dawn.
Wake while every window passes warning on.
Wake before the sirens, before the locks align.
Freedom is a daily verb, not gold upon a sign.
Wake before the quiet learns to reign.
What we do each morning keeps it human, keeps it plain.

[Cello Solo: descending cello motif, ascending piano answer, French horn ending]

[Duet: Child & Mother]
[Child]
Will there always be a man who wants the crown?
[Mother]
Yes—and people paid to keep his rivals down.
[Child]
Will liberty survive another test?
[Mother]
Not by sleeping. Not by hoping for the best.

[Build-up]
Open the meeting. Print the page.
Guard the witness. Teach the age.
Count every neighbor, every name.
No one is fuel for another’s fame.

[Final Chorus]
Wake before the sirens own the dawn.
Wake while every open door can pass the warning on.
Wake before the sirens, before the locks align.
Freedom is a daily verb, not gold upon a sign.
Wake before the lie becomes the air.
Wake by doing ordinary work with uncommon care.

[Outro]
The child sets the broken mirror in the sun.
A hundred scattered pieces shine as one.
No golden face appears inside their light.
People keep watch tonight.