Make It Through

I miss my Nani, I miss my Jaji
I miss my Gaga and my Choka too
This gotta be a nightmare man this can't be true
They stole my cousins and they took our hair
Beat the beauty out our bodies without a single care
Stolen innocence, man this ain't fair
But I was different
They couldn't break my spirit
I curse them in my language so my ancestors could hear it
Maichade wanachida!
Through the pain, I found peace
Cold concrete in the deepest of the deep of the belly of the beast
It's where I found my sleep
The colonizers couldn't tame my soul
I'm a human being
And I was whole when they found me in my homeland
Now it's stolen
And what they took, they replaced with a book

I'm finding my way and I got to be brave and I look in to the mirror to be saved
Navigate my hate when I'm on this base, am I gonna be dying today?
I don't know fa sho
Sabi nang Nanay ko (My mother told me)
Na ito ay si Marcos (This is Marcos)
Wanted a war to be off of the shores, on course to Vietnam
Generation scars that kill the songs inside of my shamanism heart
Taking my prayers to the other gods that aren't mine
Cuz I been so blinded by the sight of my eyelids on islands
I never know why I've been seeing my people confide in America lying on top of the genocide
Of our people
Ang mga kastila (The Spaniards)
Sinubukan na kunin ang aming kultura (Tried to take our culture)
Wala ka sa amin (You got nothing on us)
Dumura kami sa libingan mo (We spit on your grave)
May tattoo pa rin ako (I still have tattoos)
They don't know
Our sun drops rays on the blood lines
The guns that killed our parents are brought with us on the frontlines
And this happened more than one time
7 thousands islands divided but we are one tribe
In prayer

My people, my people, my people
We'll make it through, hold on to faith
We'll make it through, my people say
We'll make it through, stand firm, fist raised
We'll make it through...

The Reagan era
The way they portrayed us explains
The images your imagination conveys
The bangin' and gangs
Rodney king and the riots in LA
The state was oppressive, abusive
Repressive and ruthless
Fluent in the language of violence
I saw a lot of cats dying
Trying to shine off the refined product provided
They were buying from government supplying
Rights of passage, life just passes
Sometimes tragic like the fabric just opens up
Growing up to know enough
The way death kept showing up
Throwing us away
No one gets to stay
Beyond a legacy
Police blowing us away every day
That's a heavy price to pay
Every life they take
Something's got to give, something's gotta break
For Creations sake, I pray

Growing up with no role models
The only motive we know is be down to ride full throttle
Memories of my tribe getting high rolling
A year later just like the big homie I'm overdosing
Not to death but to psychosis
Feel the weight of these demons on my soul is too heavy to hold on, I'm hopeless
Feeling hideous this world is insidious
And my city is covered in clouds dark as obsidian
Living with no lineage or roots I can hold onto
But I know my truth
Used to look up to the dealers
Now I'm looking up to healers
And look into my shadow where the fear is...
Transformed to love
Til' there's nothing left and I'm fearless
Shedding blood praise the Great Spirit
Ceremony of life in service to Creation
Do we hear the call of Mother Earth and Seven Generations?

My people, my people, my people
My people
My people, my people, my people
We'll make it through, hold on to faith
We'll make it through, my people say
We'll make it through, stand firm fist raised
We'll make it through, and find our way
My people
My people, my people, my people
My people...
We'll make it through, one life
We'll make it through, one tribe
We'll make it through, one life
We'll make it through, one tribe