Featuring: LL Cool J

[Verse 1: Brad Paisley]

To the man that waited on me
At the Starbucks down on Main
I hope you understand

When I put on that t-shirt
The only thing I meant to say
Is I'm a Skynyrd fan

The red flag on my chest somehow is
Like the elephant in the corner of the south
And I just walked him right in the room

Just a proud rebel son with an 'ol can of worms
Lookin' like I got a lot to learn
But from my point of view


[Hook: Brad Paisley]
I'm just a white man comin' to you from the southland

Tryin' to understand what it's like not to be
I'm proud of where I'm from but not everything we've done
And it ain't like you and me can re-write history

Our generation didn't start this nation
We're still pickin' up the pieces, walkin' on eggshells, fightin' over yesterday
And caught between southern pride and southern blame


[Verse 2: Brad Paisley]
They called it Reconstruction, fixed the buildings, dried some tears

We're still siftin' through the rubble after a hundred-fifty years
I try to put myself in your shoes and that's a good place to begin
But it ain't like I can walk a mile in someone else's skin


[Hook: Brad Paisley]
Cause I'm a white man livin' in the southland

Just like you I'm more than what you see
I'm proud of where I'm from but not everything we've done
And it ain't like you and me can re-write history

Our generation didn't start this nation
And we're still paying for the mistakes
That a bunch of folks made long before we came

And caught somewhere between southern pride and southern blame

[Verse 3: LL Cool J]

Dear Mr. White Man, I wish you understood
What the world is really like when you're livin' in the hood
Just because my pants are saggin' doesn't mean I'm up to no good

You should try to get to know me, I really wish you would
Now my chains are gold but I'm still misunderstood
I wasn't there when Sherman's March turned the south into firewood

I want you to get paid but be a slave I never could
Feel like a new fangled Django, dodgin' invisible white hoods
So when I see that white cowboy hat, I'm thinkin' it's not all good

I guess we're both guilty of judgin' the cover not the book
I'd love to buy you a beer, conversate and clear the air
But I see that red flag and I think you wish I wasn't here


[Hook: Brad Paisley (w/ LL Cool J ad libs)]
I'm just a white man

(If you don't judge my do-rag)
Comin' to you from the southland
(I won't judge your red flag)

Tryin' to understand what it's like not to be
I'm proud of where I'm from
(If you don't judge my gold chains)

But not everything we've done
(I'll forget the iron chains)
It ain't like you and me can re-write history

(Can't re-write history baby)

Oh, Dixieland

(The relationship between the Mason-Dixon needs some fixin')
I hope you understand what this is all about
(Quite frankly I'm a black Yankee but I've been thinkin' about this lately)

I'm a son of the new south
(The past is the past, you feel me)
And I just want to make things right

(Let bygones be bygones)
Where all that's left is southern pride
(RIP Robert E. Lee but I've gotta thank Abraham Lincoln for freeing me, know what I mean)
It's real, it's real
It's truth