Verse
Grandfather stood the line in seventy-four
Tin lunchbox rattling, chalk dust on the floor
Baton met bone but the row never broke
They locked their arms like shields under smoke
Coal in his knuckles, ash on his sleeve
Sang me the chant that he swore not to leave
Said hold your ground when the whistle turns cruel
The wall don't bend for a company's rule
Pre-Chorus
What do you carry when the gate comes down
What do you sing when the sirens surround
I hum his hymn low, I keep it alive
So the wall keeps standing after we survive
Chorus
Shieldwall lullaby, hush now, hold the line
Metal for a blanket, steady for the sign
We rock the young ones sleeping to the sound of feet
The wall don't break, the wall repeats
Verse
Now I clock the graveyard shift at the depot gate
Forklift hum a hymn where the old chant used to wait
Same arms, different armor, steel plate under my boots
Foreman cuts the hours, we still show up in twos
Scar under my eyebrow from a chain that snapped back
Badge number stitched where his name used to stack
I stand the same formation my grandfather drew
Just concrete for a valley, fluorescent for the blue
Pre-Chorus
What do you carry when the gate comes down
What do you sing when the sirens surround
I pass it to my daughter, I keep it alive
So the wall keeps standing after we survive
Chorus
Shieldwall lullaby, hush now, hold the line
Metal for a blanket, steady for the sign
We rock the young ones sleeping to the sound of feet
The wall don't break, the wall repeats
Bridge
Truth is the shield was never bronze or steel
It was shoulders pressed together, how we kneel
No, how we stand, hand gripping the hand beside
The lullaby ain't quiet, it's the reason we don't hide
Chorus
Shieldwall lullaby, hush now, hold the line
Metal for a blanket, steady for the sign
We rock the young ones sleeping to the sound of feet
The wall don't break, the wall repeats
