Steel, Heat, and Names That Do Not Bend

Steel, Heat, and Names That Do Not Bend

Verse 1

In Nakhon Ratchasima, steel cracked the sky, A high‑speed dream on a Belt and Road line. A crane came down as the rail sang by, From Bangkok rolling east, sparks and fire. Carriages twisted, smoke kissed the track, The builder swore sorrow and money to match. Officials dig deep for the why and the when, With a shadow from Bangkok haunting again.

Sources:

• Multiple fatalities as construction crane collapses onto moving train in Thailand
• Construction crane falls on a passenger train in Thailand, killing at least 30 people
• Crane crashes onto passenger train in Thailand, killing at least 32
• Construction crane collapses on passenger train in Thailand, killing at least 32

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Chorus

Turn it up for the ones in the fire and the cold, For the lives on the rails and the truths we’re told. From courts to the ice, from grief to the fight, We won’t go quiet, we won’t dim the light. Raise the amps, hold the line, Beat the drum till the edges align.

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Verse 2

At dawn came letters like knives in the vein, Cutting lifelines for minds in pain. Naloxone, peers, safe places to sleep, All on the block by political teeth. But thunder from Congress shook the decree, The cuts rolled back, a panic set free. An agency bled by edicts on high, Even as the healer in charge knows why.

Sources:

• Trump administration sends letter wiping out addiction, mental health grants
• Trump administration rolls back $2 billion mental health, addiction grant cuts
• Trump administration slashes grants for mental health and addiction treatment programs
• Trump administration cuts up to $1.9 billion from mental health and addiction treatment programs

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Verse 3

In Seoul the gavel shook history’s spine, A leader accused of crossing the line. Martial law whispers called treason’s name, Prosecutors sought the ultimate flame. A measure not seen in decades gone past, Yet gallows stay silent where long shadows cast. Cho Eun‑suk speaking, the nation held breath, Most say a lifetime, not state‑crafted death.

Sources:

• Prosecutors seek death for South Korea's Yoon over martial law attempt
• Death penalty requested for Yoon Suk Yeol over insurrection charge
• Prosecutor seeks death sentence for ex-South Korean leader Yoon over martial law decree
• South Korea prosecutors seek death penalty for ex-President Yoon

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Verse 4

At the White House table, maps of the ice, A claim on Greenland at a hard‑edged price. Vance and Rubio seated in glare, Denmark stands taller in Arctic air. Allies step snow where the basalt lifts, NATO winds howling through frozen drifts. The UN insists people choose their hand, While Paris warns of shockwaves on land.

Sources:

• Denmark says there's a 'fundamental disagreement' with Trump over Greenland
• Trump says 'anything less' than US control of Greenland is 'unacceptable'
• Denmark, US Form Working Group as Disagreement Remains
• U.S., Greenland and Denmark set for talks amid Trump takeover threats

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Verse 5

Another year blistered the skin of the world, Copernicus, stateside voices unfurled. Past the pledged threshold, alarms ring clear, The curve bends faster than we’ve known or feared. Fossil smoke rising, a crown on the stack, Warm seas waiting to pull us back. If the ocean child turns and the trade winds lean, We could meet a record we hoped we’d never see.

Sources:

• 2025 was the 3rd-warmest year on record
• 2025 was the third-hottest year ever recorded on Earth, data shows
• Scientists call another near-record hot year a 'warning shot' from a shifting climate
• Copernicus: 2025 was the third hottest year on record

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Verse 6

Before Parks stood up, a teen held her ground, On a bus in Montgomery, courage unbound. She carried a case that broke iron seats, Though the world kept rolling under quiet feet. Her name kept dim while the headlines ran, Years later, the slate wiped clean by hand. She worked in care with steady grace, Now Claudette rests, and we hold her place.

Sources:

• Claudette Colvin, who refused to move seats on a bus at start of civil rights movement, dies at 86
• Claudette Colvin, unsung civil rights pioneer, dies at 86
• Claudette Colvin, who refused to move seats on a bus at start of civil rights movement, dies at 86
• Unsung US civil rights pioneer Claudette Colvin dies, aged 86

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Chorus

Turn it up for the ones in the fire and the cold, For the lives on the rails and the truths we’re told. From courts to the ice, from grief to the fight, We won’t go quiet, we won’t dim the light. Raise the amps, hold the line, Beat the drum till the edges align.

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Bridge

From Bangkok to Seoul to D.C. to the ice, From heat‑struck skies to a bus made right, We carry the names, we carry the night, We hammer the riff till the dawn finds light.

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Final Chorus and Ending

Turn it up for the fallen and brave, For the hearts that we couldn’t save. For the nurses and lawyers, the riders who stayed, For the hands on the valves, for the debts unpaid. Hold the line, hold the line, In smoke and snow and summertime. Hold the line—make it shine— We won’t back down, not this time.