Martin Luther King, in Alabama, faced a howling mob with just the bible in his hand,
He could hear the distant thunder,
He knew his days were numbered, but he believed in freedom and so he never ran.

He said, "You've got to stand, yep, stand like steel, and carry your cross through the fire - that's part of the deal,"
You've got to stand, stand like steel,
Nobody ever promised a garden of roses,
Nobody gets to Heaven without a fight, that's right,
Stand like steel.

Baby,
Oh yeah,
Yeah.

South African named Stephen Biko spoke against apartheid and the tyrants in his land,
They locked him up to their own disgrace, but he told the truth as they slapped his face,
He said, "You can take my life, but there'll be someone to take my place."

'Cause we're gonna stand, yep, stand like steel, and carry our cross through the fire - that's part of the deal,
We've got to stand, stand like steel,
Nobody ever promised a garden of roses,
Nobody gets to Heaven without a fight, that's right,
Stand like steel.

Hey, yeah.
Stand like steel,
Stand like steel,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
Yeah,
Yeah,
Oh.

Now we all must fight our private battles to tear away this darkness that enslaves us from our birth,
It takes more than guts to be strong enough, that's right,
It's an act of faith in the power of love, that's right,
And we dare not talk of freedom until we're free from our own curse.

You've got to stand, yeah, stand like steel, and carry our cross through the fire - that's part of the deal,
Baby, you got to stand, yeah, stand like steel,
Nobody ever promised a garden of roses,
Nobody gets to Heaven without a fight,
Nobody ever promised a garden of roses,
Nobody gets to Heaven without a fight, that's right, that's right.

Yeah,
Stand,
Come on and stand like steel.