They built a house and called it right.
 Said work would save. Locked it tight.
 They prayed, they fought, they raised a flag—
 Then left it folded in a bag.
 They gave us rules without a name.
 They passed the torch, then blamed the flame.
Refrain
They handed down what they denied—
 The pride, the debt, the quiet lie.

Verse 2 – The Inheritors
We lived in rooms with broken beams.
 Hung pictures up to hide the seams.
 We fixed what shook with borrowed nails.
 Believed their wins, ignored their fails.
 We sang their songs, forgot the words—
 And told ourselves we'd made it home.
Refrain
We carried more than just a name—
 The debt, the weight, the buried shame.

Bridge – The Reckoning
What kind of man came out of this?
 All talk, no ground. All wound, no fix.
 Strong in noise, small in stand.
 Took the tools, refused the work.
 We dressed it up. We looked away.
 We called it new. It stayed the same.

Verse 3 – The Witnesses
A girl stands quiet at the gate.
 She's learned to wait, and wait, and wait.
 We tell her, "Build," then hand the wreck—
 The weight we named, but won't address.
 We say, "It's yours. Now make it true."
 And walk away like we came through.

Final Chorus
We held the torch. We watched it burn.
 We left her nothing she could learn.
 No song to sing. No name to trust.
 The house still stands. The fault's the same.

Tempo: 65–70 bpm
 Key: A minor
 Suggested chords: Am – F – C – G

Title: The Inheritance  
Subtitle: An American Reckoning  

Tempo: 65–70 bpm  
Key: A minor  
Suggested Chords: Am – F – C – G  

[Verse 1 – The Builders]  
They built a house and called it right.  
Said work would save. Locked it tight.  
They prayed, they fought, they raised a flag—  
Then left it folded in a bag.  
They gave us rules without a name.  
They passed the torch, then blamed the flame.  

[Refrain]  
They handed down what they denied—  
The pride, the debt, the quiet lie.  

[Verse 2 – The Inheritors]  
We lived in rooms with broken beams.  
Hung pictures up to hide the seams.  
We fixed what shook with borrowed nails.  
Believed their wins, ignored their fails.  
We sang their songs, forgot the words—  
And told ourselves we'd made it home.  

[Refrain]  
We carried more than just a name—  
The debt, the weight, the buried shame.  

[Bridge – The Reckoning]  
What kind of man came out of this?  
All talk, no ground. All wound, no fix.  
Strong in noise, small in stand.  
Took the tools, refused the work.  
We dressed it up. We looked away.  
We called it new. It stayed the same.  

[Verse 3 – The Witnesses]  
A girl stands quiet at the gate.  
She's learned to wait, and wait, and wait.  
We tell her, "Build," then hand the wreck—  
The weight we named, but won't address.  
We say, "It's yours. Now make it true."  
And walk away like we came through.  

[Final Chorus]  
We held the torch. We watched it burn.  
We left her nothing she could learn.  
No song to sing. No name to trust.  
The house still stands. The fault's the same.

The Inheritance

Retired English teacher writing songs, penning novels, and photographing the world.

The Inheritance

Hillpoet