Here's To The State Of Mississippi Lyrics - Phil Ochs

Here's to the State of Mississippi 

For underneath 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