Afternoon Matinee: Protest - Here's To The State Of Mississippi

Performed by Phil Ochs

Here's to the State of Mississippi,

For underneath her borders, the devil draws no lines,

If you drag her muddy rivers, nameless bodies you will find.

Oh the fat trees of the forest have hid a thousand crimes,

The calender is lyin' when it reads the present time.

Whoa here's to the land you've torn out the heart of,

Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of!

And here's to the people of Mississippi

Who say the folks up north, they just don't understand

And they tremble in the shadows at the thunder of the Klan

Oh the sweating of their souls can't wash the blood from off their hands

For they smile and shrug their shoulders at the murder of a man.

Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of

Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of

And here's to the schools of Mississippi

Where they're teachin’ all the children that they don't have to care.

All the rudiments of hatred are present everywhere

And every single classroom is a factory of despair

And there's nobody learning such a foreign word as ‘fair’

Whoa, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of

Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of

And here's to the cops of Mississippi

They're chewin’ their tobacco as they lock the prison door

And their bellies bounce inside them when they knock you to the floor

No they don't like takin’ prisoners in their private little wars

And behind their broken badges there are murderers and more

Whoa, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of

Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of

And here's to the judges of Mississippi

Who wear the robe of honor as they crawl into the court

And they're guarding all the bastions of their phony legal fort

Oh, justice is a stranger when the prisoners report

When the black man stands accused the trial is always short

Whoa, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of

Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of

And here's to the government of Mississippi

In the swamp of their bureaucracy they're always bogging down

And criminals are posing as the mayors of the towns

And they hope that no one sees the sights and no one hears the sounds

And the speeches of the governor are the ravings of a clown

Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of

Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of

And here's to the laws of Mississippi

Congressmen will gather in a circus of delay

While the Constitution’s drowning in an ocean of decay

‘Unwed mothers should be sterilized,’ I've even heard them say

Yes, corruption can be classic in the Mississippi way

Whoa, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of

Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of

And here's to the churches of Mississippi

Where the cross, once made of silver, now is caked with rust

And the Sunday morning sermons pander to their lust

Oh the fallen face of Jesus is choking in the dust

And heaven only knows in which God they can trust

Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of

Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of

© Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group

~ from LyricsMode ~