My Name Is Emmett Till

Lyrics

[Verse 1] I was born a Black boy, my name is Emmett Till I walked this earth for 14 years, then one night I was killed For speaking to a woman whose skin was white as dough That's a sin in Mississippi, but how was I to know? [Verse 2] I'd come down from Chicago to visit with my kin Up there I was a cheeky kid, I guess I always been But the harm they put upon me was too hard for what I'd done For I was just a Black boy, I never hurt no one [Verse 3] They took me from my uncle's house, Mose Wright was his name He'd later stand and, without hesitation, point the blame At the ones who beat and cut me and shot me with a gun And threw me in the river like I was trash when they were done [Verse 4] I was sent back to my mother, at least what was left of me She kept my casket open for the whole wide world to see The awful desecration and the evidence of hate You could not recognize me, the mutilation was so great [Chorus] There came a cry for justice To be finally fulfilled All because of me, a black boy My name is Emmett Till [Verse 5] Oh, but I'd have rather lived 'til I was too old to die young Not miss all I left behind and all that might have come The summer clouds above my head, the grass beneath my feet The warmth of a good woman, her kisses soft and sweet [Verse 6] Perhaps to be a father with a Black boy of my own Watch him grow into a kinder world than I had known Where no child would be murdered for the color of his skin And love would be the only thing inside the hearts of men [Chorus] They say the horror of that night Is haunting Heaven still Where I am one more Black boy My name is Emmett Till