Let's get nback to music:


HERE'S TO THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
Phil Ochs [1963]

Here's to the state of Mississippi
For underheath her borders, the devil draws no line
If you drag her muddy rivers nameless bodies you will find
Oh the fat trees of her forest have hid a thousand crimes
And the calender is lying when it reads the present time.
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
All 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

Here's to the schools of Mississippi
Where they're teaching all the children that they don't have to care
All of rudiments of hatred are present everywhere
Where every single classroom is a factory of despair
And 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

Here's to the cops of Mississippi
They're chewing their tobacco as they lock the prison door
And their bellies bounce inside them as they knock you to the floor
No they don't like taking prisoners in their private little war
And 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 with their phony legal fort
Oh, justice is a stranger when the prisoners report
When the Black man stands accused the trial is always short
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
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 lies 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.

****

GOODWIN, SCHWERNER AND CHANEY
(Tom Paxton)

The night air is heavy, no cool breezes blow
The sound of the voices is worried and low
Desperately wondering, and desperate to know
About Goodwin and Schwerner and Chaney.

Calm desperation and flickering hope
Reality grapples like a hand on the throat
For you live in the shadow of ten feet of rope
If you're Goodwin and Schwerner and Chaney.

The Pearl River was dragged and two bodies were found
But it was a blind alley, for both men were brown
So they all shrugged their shoulders and the search it went on
For Goodwin and Schwerner and Chaney.

Pull out the dead bodies from the ooze of the dam
Take the bodies to Jackson, all according to plan
With the one broken body, do the best that you can
Its the body of young James Chaney.

Well the nation was outraged and shocked through and through
Call J. Edgar Hoover! He'll know what to do
For they've murdered two White men! - (and a Colored boy, too)
Goodwin and Schwerner and Chaney.

James Chaney, your body exploded in pain
And the beating they gave you is pounding my brain
For they murdered much more with their dark, bloody chains
And the body of pity lies bleeding.

The pot-bellied Coppers shook hands all around
And joked with the rednecks who came into town
And they swore that the murderers soon would be found
And they laughed as they spat their tobacco.