I was the daughter
Of a little known king
When they came

And put me in a castle
My eyes had never seen
They spoke in tongues

I've never heard
They took me to the sea
At the edge of the earth

I journied tempest waters
Reached these distant shores
My clothes are tattered

And my soul is worn
I bore a daughter
In captivity

They came late one night
To take her away from me
I cried and I cried

Oh, Lord have mercy on me
Can't they see
That little girl

Is royalty



I held my ground
And took my stand
Can't help

Feeling sometimes
That I'm a stranger
In this land

In this land of mine

My mother used

To cook and clean
For the rich folks
On the hill

Made sure
I got an education
And could hardly

Pay the bills
I studied
Schools of thought

And philosophies of man

Started questioning

The contradictions
In this land
I left the classroom

Joined the rallies
In the street
Marching hand in hand

In the Mississippi heat
I spent so many years
Of my life on the move

That confrontation
Was the only thing I knew
Talking unity and how

We gone push on through
Can't even say no more
If anything's improved





I'm a family man
With a wife
And two kids to feed

I dedicated my life
To seeing we succeed
The way I sought to make it

I learned to follow the rules
So we can make sure
Our children visit

The finest schools
Grandmas on the weekends
Going on about the good old days

When decent black folks
Be trying to make a change
My parents used to tell me
To live my life steadfast
But some may ask me

What it is that I have