Song After Lynching

I guess DEMOCRACY’S meant to be
Just a high-flown sound
Flying around…
Cause the crackers get mad
If I try to pin it down,

I guess LIBERTY’S supposed
To be just a hope.
When Negroes try to make it real
They look for a rope.

White folks oughtn’t to use
Those fine words that way
When they don’t mean a thing
Those words say…

Getting on the radio
About DEMOCRACY’S star …
And herded up
In a Jim Crow car!

Speeches like theirs
Puzzle me.
JUSTICE don’t jibe
With a lynching tree.