I come from Alabama and I work a ten pound hammer And my woman's picking cotton for the bossman on the hill They work us till they break our back Beat us cos our skin is black I guess I'll have to slave till the whip is in the grave
Yeah, when will we be free I wanna walk down any road And feel I have my liberty
Well, from day to day I live to die The scars across my back don't lie Ain't there anyone out there To hear my freedom cry
Well, I believe a man's a man who earns his pay as best he can The colour of his skin don't mean he ain't just like you Yeah, but white folk here don't give a hell They think that we were born to smell Of sweat and dust and dirt Or plough until we die
Hallelujah Let me hear you now
When will we be free I wanna walk down any road And feel I have my liberty
These shoes I'm wearing every day Got holes the size of Frisco Bay I'm praying for the time When there will come a judgement day
Let me play you some lead here Ooh, ooh
Well, we all know how long it is since Lincoln made those promises That one day we would walk along the white side of the street Now, but there were some bad folk around That got so riled they shot him down And there ain't a cop in town Who wouldn't do the same for me
Yeah, now, when will we be free I wanna walk down any road And feel I have my liberty
Well, now, now When will we be free Yeah, yeah When will we be free Ooh, yeah When will we be free Well, now, now When will we be free Well, now, now, now, now When will we be free-acap