Alabama's got me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi goddam
Alabama's got me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi goddam
Can't you see it
Can't you feel it
It's all in the air
I can't stand the pressure much longer
Somebody say a prayer
Alabama's got me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi goddam
Hound dogs on my trail
School children sitting in jail
Black cat across my path
I think every day's gonna be my last
So, lord have mercy on this land of mine
We're all gonna get it in due time
I don't belong here
I don't belong there
I've even stopped believing in prayers
Don't tell me
I tell you
Me and my people just about due
I've been there so I know
They keep on saying 'go slow!'
But that's just the trouble
(Do it slow)
Washing the windows
(Do it slow)
Picking the cotton
(Do it slow)
You're just plain rotten
(Do it slow)
You're too damn lazy
(Do it slow)
The thinking's crazy
(Do it slow)
Where am I going?
What am I doing?
I don't know
I don't know
Just try to do your very best
Stand up be counted with all the rest
For everybody knows about Mississippi goddam
Picket lines
And school boy cots
They try to say it's a communist plot
All I want is equality
For my sisters, my brothers, my people and me
Yes you lied to me all these years
You told me to wash and clean my ears
And talk real fine just like a lady
And you'd stop calling me Sister Sadie
This whole country is full of lies
You're all gonna die and die like flies
I don't trust you any more
You keep on saying "Go slow"
"Go slow"
But that's just the trouble
(Do it slow)
Desegregation
(Do it slow)
Mass participation
(Do it slow)
Reunification
(Do it slow)
Do things gradually
(Do it slow)
But bring more tragedy
(Do it slow)
Why don't you see it?
Why don't you feel it?
I don't know
I don't know
You don't have to live next to me
Just give me my equality
Everybody knows about Mississippi
Everybody knows about Alabama
Everybody knows about Mississippi goddam
