Lyrics of 'Here's To The State Of Mississipi' by 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 calendar is lying
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

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

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
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
Their bellies bounce inside them
When 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
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 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