Burn the red

We wear red
Symbols of fertility
White bonnet
Stripped of our identity

Red
Like blood
Like a sinner
Like smoke
From an unseen fire

Under his eye
We are all but vessels
We don’t cry
Held down by human shackles

It’s red
Like a scream
Like anger
Like smoke
From an unseen fire

But I have another name
That doesn’t come from him
That doesn’t colour me red
Red, red, red

I hold my other name
Like an amulet
One day I’ll wear it again

We didn’t see the flames
Till the forest fire
(Burn the red dress)

Once we were a flame
Now we’re a forest fire
(Burn the red dress)

Burn the red dress yeah
Burn the red
Burn the red dress yeah
Burn the red
Burn the red dress yeah
Burn the red
Burn the red
Burn it all

Praise be
We thank this blessed day
Unseen
Beaten, branded, raped

I’m red
Like anger
Like a warning
Like smoke
From an unseen fire

We have another name
That doesn’t come from him
That doesn’t colour us red
Red, red, red

And we whisper our names
Like thunder rising
Until it’s deafening

You didn’t see the flames
Till the forest fire
(Burn the red dress)

Once we were a flame
Now we’re a forest fire
(Burn the red dress)

You didn’t see the flames
Till the forest fire
(Burn the red dress)

Once we were a flame
Now we’re a forest fire
(Burn the red dress)

Burn the red dress yeah
Burn the red
Burn the red dress yeah
Burn the red
Burn the red dress yeah
Burn the red
Burn the red
Burn it all