RAISED ON THUNDER

*[A lone electric guitar growls in—Amanda bending a low note until it sounds like distant thunder. Emily’s tambourine enters softly. Myra counts off with her sticks.]*

**MYRA, shouted:**

One, two—one, two, three, four!

*[The full band crashes in.]*

## Verse 1 — Shannon

I was raised where the blacktop ends,

Where the wheat bows down when the west wind bends,

With a Bible on the table and mud on my boots,

Cornfield blood and deep-grown roots.

Mama played piano in the Sunday light,

Daddy taught me faith don’t fold in a fight,

I learned to tell the truth with a pen in my hand,

And play six strings like a one-woman band.

## Pre-Chorus — Shannon and Emily

**SHANNON:**

We don’t run when the dark clouds roll—

**EMILY, harmony:**

No, we stand our ground.

**SHANNON:**

You can feel that lightning in our souls—

**ALL:**

When you hear that sound!

## Chorus — All

We were raised on thunder,

Born beneath a wide-open sky,

With fire in our hearts

And a storm behind our eyes.

We’ve been bent by the wind,

But we never stayed down,

We turn hard rain into a rebel sound.

Side by side,

We’re stronger together—

Southern blood, wild hearts,

Raised on thunder!

*[Amanda answers the chorus with a sharp blues-rock guitar lick.]*

## Verse 2 — Amanda

I was raised around horses and old fence lines,

Quiet little roads and “take your own sweet time,”

But hand me that blue guitar under the lights,

I’ll make six strings start a Saturday-night fight.

I don’t need to brag, I just let it play,

Let the slide guitar say what I’m too shy to say,

I’m gentle with a mare, but honey, understand—

There’s a streak of lightning running through these hands.

## Pre-Chorus — Amanda and Shannon

**AMANDA:**

I don’t talk big, but I play it loud—

**SHANNON, harmony:**

Let that blue guitar sing.

**AMANDA:**

When the sparks start flying through the crowd—

**ALL:**

You’ll feel everything!

## Chorus — All

We were raised on thunder,

Born beneath a wide-open sky,

With fire in our hearts

And a storm behind our eyes.

We’ve been bent by the wind,

But we never stayed down,

We turn hard rain into a rebel sound.

Side by side,

We’re stronger together—

Southern blood, wild hearts,

Raised on thunder!

## Verse 3 — Emily

I was raised with colors no one else could see,

Paint on my fingers, a restless melody,

From a farmhouse piano to the streets of Paris,

I learned every soul has a picture it carries.

I’ll shake that tambourine, make the whole room shine,

Add a little scarlet to the rhythm and rhyme,

I may look like the calm before the storm rolls in—

But wait till the chorus, and I’ll raise that wind.

*[Emily shakes the tambourine in a quick rhythmic flourish as the band drops to bass drum and handclaps.]*

## Verse 4 — Myra

I wasn’t born here, but I found my way home,

Through a frozen old world and the great unknown,

Now I’ve got a purple streak and a family name,

A heart full of wonder and a head full of flame.

Call me baby girl, but don’t call me tame,

I’ve got two drumsticks and a hurricane,

I’ll count four beats, then I’ll break every rule—

And make the grand finale last a minute or two!

**SHANNON, spoken:**

Myra—

**MYRA:**

What? It needed more thunder!

*[Myra launches into a huge rolling drum fill.]*

## Chorus — All

We were raised on thunder,

Born beneath a wide-open sky,

With fire in our hearts

And a storm behind our eyes.

We’ve been bent by the wind,

But we never stayed down,

We turn hard rain into a rebel sound.

Side by side,

We’re stronger together—

Southern blood, wild hearts,

Raised on thunder!

## Bridge — Shannon, then All

*[The music falls back to acoustic guitar, piano, and a steady floor-tom heartbeat.]*

**SHANNON:**

Some roots come from the soil,

Some grow after the rain,

Some families share blood,

Some choose to share the pain.

Some homes have an address,

Some live inside your heart,

And when the world turns cold,

That’s where the fire starts.

**EMILY:**

We carry every color—

**AMANDA:**

We play every scar—

**MYRA:**

We’ll chase down every horizon—

**SHANNON:**

No matter how far.

**ALL, building:**

And if the night comes calling,

We’ll answer together—

Four voices, one family,

One storm forever!

## Guitar Solo — Amanda

*[Amanda tears into a bluesy Southern-rock solo. Shannon locks into the rhythm guitar. Emily pounds bright piano chords between tambourine hits. Myra keeps a heavy half-time beat, then gradually accelerates into a roaring drum break.]*

**MYRA, shouting over the solo:**

Come on, Amanda!

**AMANDA:**

All right, baby girl—hold on!

*[Amanda and Myra trade guitar and drum phrases until the whole band crashes back into the chorus.]*

## Final Chorus — All

We were raised on thunder,

Born beneath a wide-open sky,

With fire in our hearts

And a storm behind our eyes.

We’ve crossed frozen darkness,

We’ve followed strange stars,

We’ve carried one another

Through the miles and the scars.

We’ve been bent by the wind,

But we never stayed down,

We turn hard