Here's To The State Of Mississippi

Words & Music:

Phil Ochs

 

G             Em               D

Here's to the state of Mississippi,

    G                           F

For Underheath her borders, the devil draws no lines,

       G                              F

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

         G                            F

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

    G           Em           Am                D

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

     G             Em          C            G

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

G                    Em               D         G

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 their shadows at the thunder of the Klan

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

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 teaching 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

There's nobody learning such a foreign word as fair

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 cops of Mississippi

They're chewing their tobacco as they lock the prison door

Their bellies bounce inside them when they knock you to the floor

No they don't like taking prisoners in their private little war

Behind their broken badges there are murderers and more

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 judges of Mississippi

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

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

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 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 is 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

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 churches of Mississippi

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

And the Sunday morning sermons pander to their lust

The fallen face of Jesus is choking in the dust

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