Questionmark (Extended Version)

i saw a man with a sign in the burning sun
no one stopped, just checked their phones and carried on
he wrote, "the silence is louder than the lies"
but the crowd moved on, earbuds tight, vacant eyes
you don't need a flag, you don't need a name
just a voice that says, "i won't play the game"
oh, the quiet ones, they carry the flame
while the loud ones just barter in someone else's name
if you're watching the fire and you don't feel the heat
then you're part of the smoke that keeps choking the street

there's a flag on the lawn and a lock on the gate
and a screen full of noise that decides what we hate
we scroll through the storm like it's someone else's
but the thunder still answers to the blink of your eye
you don't need a flag, you don't need a name
just a voice that says, "i won't play the game"
oh, the quiet ones, they carry the flame
while the loud ones just barter in someone else's name
if you're watching the fire and you don't feel the heat
then you're part of the smoke that keeps choking the street

you don't need a drum or a marching line
just a whisper that says, "this world is mine"
a seed in the cracks, a hand in the dark
revolution begins with a question mark

so sing for the stranger who's losing their place
for the child with no country, no voice, and no face
don't wait for the news to tell you what's true
the mirror is speaking, it's looking at you
oh, the quiet ones, they carry the flame
while the loud ones just barter in someone else's name
if you're watching the fire and you don't feel the heat
then you're part of the smoke that keeps choking the street

don't look away, don't look away
the world won't change if we just pray
don't look away, don't look away
the silence is louder than anything they say

fight for the truth when they silence the press
for the right to exist when they target the trans
for the judge who stands firm when the tyrants attack
for the vote they would steal and the rights they roll back
fight for the marchers they try to detain
for the right to dissent without fear or shame
for the aid they withdrew from the hands of the poor
for the balance of power they've torn from the floor
fight for the marchers they try to unmask
for the truth-tellers silenced for questions they ask
for the aid they erased and the voices they fear
for the checks and the balance they're burning down here
fight like the future is tied to your name
like the silence is violence and watching is shame
if you're waiting for someone, that someone is you
'cause the world doesn't change, unless we do

don't look away, don't look away
don't look away, don't look away
don't look away

fight for their right to exist
fight for the ones they erase
fight for the names they dismiss
fight for our right to exist
fight for the truth they replace
fight for the right to resist
fight for your right to exist
fight like the world can't resist

[ music & lyrics ©2025 hvl ]