Interpret:

Phil Ochs

Album:

I Ain´t Marching Anymore

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


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
Whoa the sweating of their souls 
Can't wash the blood from off their hands
Whoa 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
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


And here's to the cops of Mississippi
They're chewing their tobacco 
As they lock the prison door
And their bellies bounce inside them 
When they knock you to the floor
No they don't like taking prisoners 
In their private little wars
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
And 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 silvernow is caked with rust
And the Sunday morning sermons pander to their lust
Oh the fallen face of Jesus is 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