D Bm A Here's to the state of Mississippi,D C for underneath her borders, the devil draws no lines.D C If you drag her muddy rivers, nameless bodies you will find.D C whoa, the fat trees of the forest have hid a thousand crimes,D Bm Em A the calender is lyin' when it reads the present time.D Bm G D Whoa, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of,Bm A D Mississippi, find yourself another country to be part of!D Bm A And here's to the people of Mississippi,D C who say the folks up north, they just don't understand.D C And they tremble in their shadows at the thunder of the Klan,D C the sweating of their souls can't wash the blood from off their hands,D Bm Em A they smile and shrug their shoulders at the murder of a man.D Bm G D Whoa, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of,Bm A D Mississippi, find yourself another country to be part of!D Bm A And here's to the schools of Mississippi,D C where they're teaching all the children that they don't have to care,D C all the rudiments of hatred are present everywhere,D C and every single classroom is a factory of despair,D Bm Em A and there's nobody learning such a foreign word as “fair”.D Bm G D Whoa, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of,Bm A D Mississippi, find yourself another country to be part of!D Bm A And here's to the cops of Mississippi,D C they're chewing their tobacco as they lock the prison door,D C their bellies bounce inside them when they knock you to the floor,D C no, they don't like taking prisoners in their private little war,D Bm Em A and behind their broken badges there are murderers and more.D Bm G D Whoa, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of,Bm A D Mississippi, find yourself another country to be part of!D Bm A And, here's to the judges of Mississippi,D C who wear the robe of honor as they crawl into the court,D C they're guarding all the bastions of their phony legal fort,D C oh, justice is a stranger when the prisoners report,D Bm Em A when the black man stands accused the trial is always short.D Bm G D Whoa, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of,Bm A D Mississippi, find yourself another country to be part of!D Bm A And here's to the government of Mississippi,D C in the swamp of their bureaucracy they're always bogging down,D C and criminals are posing as the mayors of the towns,D and they hope that no one sees the sights,C and no one hears the sounds,D Bm Em A and the speeches of the governor are the ravings of a clown.D Bm G D Whoa, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of,Bm A D Mississippi, find yourself another country to be part of!D Bm A And here's to the laws of Mississippi,D C Congressmen will gather in a circus of delay,D C while the Constitution’s drowning in an ocean of decay,D C unwed mothers should be sterilized, I've even heard them say,D Bm Em A yes, corruption can be classic in the Mississippi way.D Bm G D Whoa, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of,Bm A D Mississippi, find yourself another country to be part of!D Bm A And here's to the churches of Mississippi,D C where the cross, once made of silver, now is caked with rust,D C and the Sunday morning sermons pander to their lust,D C the fallen face of Jesus is choking in the dust,D Bm Em A and heaven only knows in which God they can trust.D Bm G D Whoa, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of,Bm A D Mississippi, find yourself another country to be part of!
Heres To The State Of Mississippi
Phil Ochs
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Tom: