Back in the day when I was protesting
They yelled at us to go back to Russia
Sometimes hurling bricks along with the brickbats
Trying to bully us off the streets.
Especially when we stood with people of color
They hated us those lower class white men
Acting out the virulent racism of white America
Dupes ruled over by upper class white men.
Now I hear a similar hostile sentiment
Spewed from the mouth of the head of state
Inciting violence against people of color
Flaunting his racism out in the open.
Being white and comfortable I could look the other way
The way that so many around me seem to do
But I believe in a better world where black and brown lives matter
Knowing what they do to any of us they do to all of us.
I remember when I first heard an old recording
I remember when I first heard an old recording
Big Bill Broonzy playing a 12 string guitar singing
"If you're white you're all right; if you're brown stick around
But if you're black get back get back get back."
Today when I see that reactionary flag
The one with blue stripes approving police conduct
The everyday profiling the brutality the oppression
I know that person supports injustice.
The day will come when the tide of change surges in
Drowning the bigots with their heads in the sand
The future belongs to all the people of the world
Marching under the rainbow flag.
