[Intro] Some gave speeches Some took shots Some wrote pages That shook the top [Verse 1] Workers kept it moving put the nation on track Long days low pay while the few got fat Pressure kept rising couldn't hold that back Debs stepped up put the workers on the map Different kind of vision different kind of route Public own the power let the people work it out Resources for the many not a kingdom for the few Put the working people first that was something new Party came together eighteen ninety eight Workers rights moving to the national debate Five times running kept carrying the call Never won the White House still he challenged it all Progressives said regulate keep the system in line Debs said change who owns it redesign Different roads moving through a changing year Same question hanging who does government hear [Chorus] Show them what they hide Put the proof before their eyes Pen and picture side by side Shine the light and change the tide When the powerful deny Let the evidence reply Truth can travel far and wide Show them what they hide [Verse 2] Jacob Riis went where the bright lights fade Backstreet rooms where the poor folks stayed How the Other Half Livvs put the truth on page Turn the lens on the dark bring the dark to the stage Families packed in with nowhere to breathe One photograph showed what was hard to believe Made the city look straight at the life it ignored Can't fix what you hide can't change what you avoid Lewis Hine came with the camera in hand Found young workers in the mills of the land Factories mines where the daylight burned Kids on the clock when they should've learned Name to a face put a face to the fight No polished picture just a flash of the light No hiding the truth no convenient disguise Put the proof in the frame let it speak through their eyes [Chorus] Show them what they hide Put the proof before their eyes Pen and picture side by side Shine the light and change the tide When the powerful deny Let the evidence reply Truth can travel far and wide Show them what they hide [Verse 3] Steffens hit the city started tracing the cash Machines in the shadows with their hands in the stash McClure's ran the story put the facts in the light Follow every dollar till the wrong looks right Tarbell went deep on Standard Oil Piece by piece showed how the system got spoiled Tracked the deals down put the methods on view When the public saw the picture calls for action grew Sinclair dropped The Jungle back in oh six Workers in the struggle meatpacking in the mix Aimed for the heart but the stomachs got hit Whole country talking couldn't look past it Inspection came and the food laws changed Federal rules put new checks in place Pen hit paper then the pressure went wide Once the truth got loose it was too big to hide [Bridge] Debs had a voice Riis had a frame Hine had a lens That remembered each name Steffens had facts Tarbell had files Sinclair had pages That traveled for miles Different tools But the mission aligned Bring hidden injustice Into the public mind [Final Chorus] Show them what they hide Put the proof before their eyes Pen and picture side by side Shine the light and change the tide When the powerful deny Let the evidence reply Truth can travel far and wide Show them what they hide Show them what they hide Show them what they hide When the truth reaches the people Change is never far behind [Outro] Take the picture Write the page Speak the truth And shape the age
