Mississippi (62) Poem by Mark (Owen) Williams

I
Came from the land of the cotton, God’s great land that was not forgotten all those years ago.
And I
I loved Johnny Rebel, I’d live I’d die with Dixie pride oh Lord how it moved me so.
Oh… but all that changed
In 62 – all that changed.

Yes
Those cars kept a comin’, Southern plates from Rebel states cutting through Mississippi’s soul.
For they
Came for a lynching, dressed in white, ropes hung at night, their hate made them lose control.
And oh… turned good men bad
Oh, turned such good men bad.

Chorus
Oh my sweet dear Dixie, Meredith he was my friend, come free the hand of your Southern man, oh will it ever end?
I love my Mississippi but her ghosts still echo true. Do you feel the pain down in Alabama, back there in 62…


James
Now part of our campus, Ole Miss the one, proud Southern son – I helped him find his way.
Then John
Sent local Marshals, but they just smiled as the mob went wild – they let them have their say.
Oh…. then the soldiers came
Oh, US soldiers came.

I
Still hear their venom, “Nigger cow get out here now”, first words and then there came the brawls.
For they
Scarred Mississippi, as crosses burnt their message learnt, Grand Knights in our towns and halls.
Oh, Mississippi wept
Lord, Mississippi wept.

Bridge
Could have been the whiskey – could have been the booze,
Could have been the sorrow I was trying to loose,
But you just can’t hide from the ghosts of Mississippi,
When the devil ran free in the state… of Mississippi.


And I
Saw Mississippi, crumble down to waring sound, bloodshed in the delta sun.
For God
He forgot Mississippi, as rape and fear took hold down here, the Devil brought his gun.
Oh, and the people cried
Oh, many people died.

For we
We had no direction, Barnett hacks no friends to blacks nor James and his righteous ways.
It spread
Down to Alabama, freedom strikes ignited fights, Bull Conner sent his dogs to play.
Oh that was 63
Oh, back in 63.

Chorus