Mississippi Goddam

[Spoken Introduction]
The name of this tune is Mississippi Goddam
And I mean every word of it

[Verse 1]
Alabama's gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi, goddamn

Can't you see it
Can't you feel it
It's all in the air
I can't stand the pressure much longer
Somebody say a prayer

[Chorus]
Alabama's gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi, goddamn

(This is a show tune, but the show hasn't been written for it, yet)

[Verse 2]
Hound dogs on my trail
School children sitting in jail
Black cat cross my path
I think every day's gonna be my last

Lord have mercy on this land of mine
We all gonna get it in due time
I don't belong here
I don't belong there
I've even stopped believing in prayer

Don't tell me, I'll tell you
Me and my people just about due
I've been there so I know
They keep on saying "Go slow!"

[Refrain]
But that's just the trouble
"do it slow"
Washing the windows
"Too slow"
Picking the cotton
"Too slow"
You're just plain rotten
"Too slow"
You're too damn lazy
"Too slow"
The thinking's crazy
"Too slow"
Where am I going
What am I doing
I don't know
I don't know
Just try to do your very best
Stand up, be counted with all the rest
For everybody knows about Mississippi, goddamn

(I bet you thought I was kidding, didn't you)

[Verse 3]
Picket lines, school boycotts
They try to say it's a communist plot
All I want is equality
For my sister, my brother, my people, and me

Yes, you lied to me all these years
You told me to wash and clean my ears
And talk real fine just like a lady
And you'd stop calling me Sister Sadie

Oh but this whole country is full of lies
You're all gonna die and die like flies
I don't trust you any more
You keep on saying "Go slow!"
"Go slow!"

[Refrain]
But that's just the trouble
"Too slow"
Desegregation
"Too slow"
Mass participation
"Too slow"
Reunification
"Too slow"
Do things gradually
"Too slow"
But bring more tragedy
"Too slow"
Why don't you see it
Why don't you feel it
I don't know
I don't know
[Chorus]
You don't have to live next to me
Just give me my equality
Everybody knows about Mississippi
Everybody knows about Alabama
Everybody knows about Mississippi, goddamn

[Spoken Outro]
That's it!