[Intro: Female Lead]
The ballroom glowed in company blue.
"Together We Will Grow" hung over the crowd.
I folded up the speech they had approved.
Reed their words aloud.

[Verse 1: Female Lead]
Victor gave my name the scripted welcome.
The teleprompter offered "trust" and "care."
Pink envelopes waited one floor down.
I opened every page they had cut out.
The room expected gratitude and growth.
I spoke the first response instead.

[Chorus: Female Lead with Mixed Backing]
Reed their words aloud.
Let the ballroom hear the crowd.
You can cut the mic mid-line,
but a hundred voices rise.
Take your slogans from the wall.
Reed their words and hear them all.

[Verse 2: Employee Ensemble]
"I sleep beside my phone in case it rings."
"My manager forgets what Sunday means."
"I train new hires who make more than me."
"I asked the range. They changed the subject."
"Three friends have left. We don't say their names."
The party grin dropped from every face.

[Chorus: Female Lead with Mixed Backing]
Reed their words aloud.
Let the ballroom hear the crowd.
You can cut the mic mid-line,
but a hundred voices rise.
Take your slogans from the wall.
Reed their words and hear them all.

[Breakdown: Female Lead]
Victor crossed the stage and killed the sound.
For half a breath, the room held still.
Then Nina stood upon her chair.
Her bare voice reached the back wall.

[Call and Response: Employee Ensemble]
"I wrote the line about the phone!"
"I wrote the wage was kept from sight!"
"I wrote that weekends went unpaid!"
"I wrote the words you colored blue!"

[A Cappella Break: Mixed Employee Voices]

[Bridge: Employee Ensemble]
A cleaner named the shift they cut.
An intern raised the leaking cup.
The management table found the door.
Each row produced one story more.

[Final Chorus: Mixed Gang Vocals]
We spoke their words aloud.
The ballroom finally met the crowd.
You killed the mic and blanked the screen;
you could not stop what workers said.
Take your values from the wall.
We spoke their words. We heard them all.

[Outro: Female Lead]
The banner sagged above the stage.
No one clapped for the company line.
Reed their words aloud.