Zara Alvarez had short black hair
And eyes that reflected the world
Zara Alvarez had faith in God
And a brave-hearted 10-year-old girl
And Zara had a little black book
That lay closed at the edge of her desk
Wherein she kept track of friends who’d been shot in their homes
88 names on her list

One of Zara’s good friends was a man
Who kept pictures in frames of his wife
20 years of true love laid to rest in a hospital bed
’Cause the cost of those pills was too high
So he marched in the streets, screaming her name
Never knowing how much he’d be missed
And Zara’s brave girl asked, mama, what happened?
Why is uncle’s name on your list?
She said,

Tuloy ang laban, we fight for a day
When we won’t have to fight anymore to be safe
My darling, I’m frightened, but I won’t give up
’Cause I’m fighting for you, and I never will stop

Zara Alvarez once was in prison
Chained on a cold concrete floor
All for teaching the farmers their rights
And for telling Duterte to care for his poor
But she made a new friend in the cell next to hers
A boy with a scar on his wrist
He confessed to her, Zara, I’m scared
Of becoming a name on a list
She said,

[chorus]
And we’re both of us frightened, but don’t you give up
I’ll be fighting for you, and I never will stop

Zara Alvarez was walking home
When gunshots rang out in the street
And as rain fell around her
Police workers covered her up with a clear plastic sheet
And somewhere tonight, a brave young girl
Imagines her mom’s goodnight kiss
And the world will remember her mother as so much more
Than the 89th name on a list

Tuloy ang laban, we fight for a day
When no one must fight anymore to be safe
And Zara, we’re frightened, but we won’t give up
’Cause we fight in your name, and we never will stop
Tuloy ang laban, we fight for a day
When no one must fight anymore to be safe
And God knows we’re frightened, but we won’t give up
’Cause we fight in the names on your list, and we never will stop

Zara Alvarez had short black hair
And eyes that reflected the world