Twenty years ago, I took my daughter, Sara, to the ocean for her fourth birthday. She just learned to dog paddle, and proudly walked up to anyone in sight, saying, "I can swim." The sea was calm, so I ... [+]
Ed Johnson's gone off t' the bridge
Won't be comin' back again
Crowd come and' took 'im at dawn
"I am innocent" he says
But a lynchin' mob never hears a sound
Over it's rabid desire
"God bless you all" his final words
Then the rope and gunfire...
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world
Have mercy on us
Emmett Till come from the North
Got some freedom in his veins
Says howdy-do to the wrong white woman
He ain't goin' home again
Gonna take 'im to the river, gonna learn 'im how to swim
With a noose wrapped round his neck
And a hun'erd pounds o' iron
Hanging from his shins
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world
Have mercy on us
They say Jesus were an innocent man
When he got nailed t' a cross in the sky
Had blessin's for the folks below
Waitin' for him to die
Hung up there beside 'im, left an' right
Two thieves, book don't say if
They was black or white, jus'
"This day, you will be with me in Paradise"
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world
Have mercy on us
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world
Grant us peace...