Language Of My Father

Intro

Mm

Yeah

Mm-hmm

Verse 1

Granddad carved his letters on a cracked stone wall

Papa spoke in riddles that I barely caught at all

Now I write it down in a tongue they never taught

A dialect of elders sewn in every thought

Two alphabets colliding in my throat

One for the market and one for the boat

Pre-Chorus

So I keep the parchment close

I keep the names I know

I keep the parchment close

The roots beneath the snow

Chorus

I record it in the language of my father

I record it in the language of my father

Every syllable a debt I pay

Every symbol keeps the past awake

Post-Chorus

Write it down

Write it down

Say it slow

Let it sound

Verse 2

Learned to read the river learned to read the signs

Learned the crooked markings that my lineage designed

Strangers hear it stumble call it broken slang

But this is how my people prayed and sang

Not a relic in a case no museum glass

A living current running through my hands

Pre-Chorus

So I keep the parchment close

I keep the names I know

I keep the parchment close

The roots beneath the snow

Chorus

I record it in the language of my father

I record it in the language of my father

Every syllable a debt I pay

Every symbol keeps the past awake

Post-Chorus

Write it down

Write it down

Say it slow

Let it sound

Bridge

Two tongues one chest

Two tongues one chest

Who I am is who they left

Who I am is who they left

Chorus

I record it in the language of my father

I record it in the language of my father

Every syllable a debt I pay

Every symbol keeps the past awake

Outro

Mm

Write it down