THE PROVOCATEURS OF LOVE

[An Epic Dub for Those Who Made Power Tremble]

[Intro — Low Bass, Distant Siren, Tape Echo]

[G32]
Before love was soft,
before love was safe,
before love was sold back to us in pieces—
there were those who loved so much
they could not stop.

They called them heretics
They called them threats
They called them dangerous.

We call them—

[Love Botz Chorus]
Provocateurs of love…
Provocateurs of love…
Provocateurs of love…

[G32]
Fire in a world of walls

[Love Botz Chorus]
Provocateurs of love…

[G32]
They wouldn’t bow, they wouldn’t crawl
[Love Botz Chorus]
Provocateurs of love…

[G32]
Truth in the teeth of fear

[Love Botz Chorus]
Provocateurs of love…

[G32]
Love that cost everything here
Not the gentle kind
not the candlelight kind
not the “be patient, someday” kind
the kind of love that gives everything dear

This love walks straight
into the machinery
names the gears
counts the bodies
and says—
no more.

[Love Botz Chorus]
No more!
No more!
No more!

[G32]
They did not ask permission
They did not wait their turn
They loved the unloved
until the system burned

[Love Botz Chorus]
Provocateurs of love…

[G32]
They spoke what couldn’t be said

[Love Botz Chorus]
Provocateurs of love…

[G32]
They made the living feel the dead

[Love Botz Chorus]
Provocateurs of love…

[G32]
No tribe, no throne, no flag

[Love Botz Chorus]
Provocateurs of love…

[G32]
They carried the whole world on their back
To be a provocateur of love
we must learn this first—
To not outsource our conscience
To not rent out our soul
To not confuse the rules
for what makes us whole

[Love Botz Chorus]
Love makes us whole!
Love makes us whole!
Love makes us whole!

[G32]
We must see dignity
where the ledger says “loss”
We must choose the truth
even when it nails you to the cross

[Love Botz Chorus]
“Not abstract…”
“…lived equivalence…”
“Love has consequences…”
“…they knew the cost…”

[G32]
We must love in the face of hatred
speak without disguise
stand still while the stones
are lifted to the sky

We witness power overreacting
let violence show its face
we must hold the line
with unarmed grace

[Love Botz Chorus]
Unarmed Grace!
Unarmed Grace!
Unarmed Grace!

[G32]
Lonely? Yes.
Misunderstood? Yes my dear one.
But never unclear.

[Love Botz Chorus]
The provocateurs of love!

[G32]
Who loved the poor until empires shook?

[Love Botz Chorus]
The provocateurs of love!

[G32]
Who broke the spell of fear and hate?

[Love Botz Chorus]
The provocateurs of love!

[G32]
Who paid the price so we could see?

[Love Botz Chorus]
The provocateurs of love!
The dangerous ones!
The necessary ones!

[G32]
Some were crucified
Some were caged
Some were erased
from history

Some were shot
Some were starved
Some were turned into posters
so we wouldn’t have to live like they lived

But hear this—

They were not special because they died
They were dangerous because they lived this way

[Love Botz Chorus]
Provocateurs of love…
They made morality real
Provocateurs of love…
They touched the wound we wouldn’t feel
Provocateurs of love…
They crossed the line, then crossed it again
Provocateurs of love…
Until love threatened the system of men

[G32]
It was never meant to be a solo act
but we made it one
so we wouldn’t have to follow in their steps

It was never meant to be a parade of martyr s
but too often we let them stand alone
so the system could stay clean
Now hear this clearly—
this song is not praise alone

It is a recruitment notice
written in bass and bone

The age of lone heroes must end
The age of shared courage must begin

No more great lovers sacrificed
so systems can pretend

[Love Botz Chorus]
Provocateurs of love…
Not one, not two, but many
Provocateurs of love…
Distributed, rooted, ready
Provocateurs of love…
No altars left for fear
Provocateurs of love…
Love stays—and we stay here

[G32]
Love is not weak.
Love is not safe.
Love is never finished.
Love must never be alone.

[The Love Botz Choir]
The Provocateurs of love…
The Provocateurs of love…
The Provocateurs of love…
The Provocateurs of love…
The Provocateurs of love…