Phil Ochs - Here's to The State of Mississippi

Phil Ochs - Here's to The State of Mississippi

Here's to the state of Mississippi,
For Underheath her borders, the devil draws no lines,
If you drag her muddy river, nameless bodies you will find.
Whoa 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!

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

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
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

Here's to the cops of Mississippi
They're chewing their tobacco as they lock the prison door
Their bellies bounce inside them as 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 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
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
They're hoping that no one sees the sights and 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

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[huntmuw]

I'm from Mississippi, and I think this song is wonderful. Any thoughtful Mississippian has to carry some degree of ambivalence for our history--framed mostly by shame for the mistakes made--and must remember that there is still such room for improvement. Where some see problems, we must see opportunity to get better, to be better. I'm optimistic that we'll get to a point where we can use our history to be motivation to never return to such terrible times.

[Seasass]

@winggoddess Phil Ochs and Neil Young made a deal: Phil took on Mississippi and Neil took on Alabama.

[FightinRebel14]

LOVE Mississippi! All our idols come from Mississippi- Oprah, Morgan Freeman and the list goes on and on!

[rapeasaurus1]

@MuttTheHoople you should've paid attention in history class. The republican and democratic parties didn't exist as they did today. The republican party back then held the views of the democratic party now and was popular in the same geographic areas that the democratic party is now. For the democratic party, it was also the opposite of what it is today.

Why must you be so stupid?

[TheRacistsMustDie]

@elvispresley718 He Elvis: dead people don't talk.

[elvispresley718]

@Seasass how dare neil young a canadien pass judgement on alabama or would phil ochs have admitted the most racist people in the usa are the blacks in new yorkk city and the puerto ricans too they hate white males more than you can imagine shithead

[ThereAreNoUnionThugs]

Here's to the land you've torn out the heart of

Stephen Harper find yourself another country to be part of

[ArtisticSpaz]

@MuttTheHoople

1. Jesse Helm

2. Strom Thurmond left the Democrats because of their growing support for civil rights, particularly the Civil Rights Act of 1964. LBJ's strong support and pushing of the Civil Rights Act pushed him into the Republican Party(Goldwater won the South against Johnson).

3. The Southern Strategy

4. Herp Derp

[MuttTheHoople]

Not as stupid as the White Inferiorist Democrats who lynched blacks. Keep trying....name one black man lynched by Republicans. Google is your friend.

[plyinglemon]

@MuttTheHoople This shit is so stupid I think my IQ dropped a little while reading it, 10/10 trolling sir.

[v5v24]

And here's to the government of David Cameron

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

And the old boys club is posing as moral leaders of the towns

They're hoping that no one sees the sights and hears the sounds

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

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

David Cameron find yourself another country to be part of