We have seen some dark days in the history of man.
Tell you 'bout a Saint Patrick's day when the stuff has hit the fan.
The year was eighteen-eighty-six in a little country town.
The men was two mixed-blood brothers name o' Ed and Charlie Brown.
The boys was sharp, workin' hard, rollin' for the man,
Didn't know time had come for them to make a stand.
Movin' barrels, an accident with a man named James Lidell.
He called Ed a S.O.B. and told him go to hell.
Evenin' came to fan the flames of the violent bloody move.
Pistols come from under coats and everybody shoots.
[Spoken] Now sometime durin' the shootin' James Lidell caught a hit in the arm and one in the thigh—just enough to hurt but not bad enough to die. He made it back home and rounded up about sixty of his boys—just enough to make him feel like a man. A few days later when the assault trial against him was set, he came back with sixty heavily armed character witnesses.
Them other men came ridin' in with Colts an' Smiths ablaze.
Ed caught two in the chest and Charlie in the face.
Courthouse windows shattered and the people in a daze,
Bullet holes, wasted souls an' blood about the place.
[Spoken] Charlie and Ed had used the injustice system to their complete disadvantage. The grand jury said they had it comin'. After all, they was just desperate half-breeds.
We have seen some dark days in the history of man:
Broken hearts, stolen lives and tales of stolen names.
Tell you 'bout a Saint Patrick's day when the stuff has hit the fan.
The year was eighteen-eighty-six in a little country town.
The men was two mixed-blood brothers name o' Ed and Charlie Brown.
The boys was sharp, workin' hard, rollin' for the man,
Didn't know time had come for them to make a stand.
Movin' barrels, an accident with a man named James Lidell.
He called Ed a S.O.B. and told him go to hell.
Evenin' came to fan the flames of the violent bloody move.
Pistols come from under coats and everybody shoots.
[Spoken] Now sometime durin' the shootin' James Lidell caught a hit in the arm and one in the thigh—just enough to hurt but not bad enough to die. He made it back home and rounded up about sixty of his boys—just enough to make him feel like a man. A few days later when the assault trial against him was set, he came back with sixty heavily armed character witnesses.
Them other men came ridin' in with Colts an' Smiths ablaze.
Ed caught two in the chest and Charlie in the face.
Courthouse windows shattered and the people in a daze,
Bullet holes, wasted souls an' blood about the place.
[Spoken] Charlie and Ed had used the injustice system to their complete disadvantage. The grand jury said they had it comin'. After all, they was just desperate half-breeds.
We have seen some dark days in the history of man:
Broken hearts, stolen lives and tales of stolen names.
Contributed by Bernart Bartleby - 2014/12/23 - 13:20
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Parole e musica di Alvin Youngblood Hart
Nel suo album intitolato “Territory”
Testo trovato sull’insostituibile Mudcat Café
Proprio come quelli di negri e mezzosangue nel sud degli USA, cittadini americani ma considerati di seconda categoria, esseri umani considerati solo animali…
Siamo verso la fine dell’800. A Carrollton – come in tutto il Mississippi, come in tutto il sud degli USA – se un negro osava opporsi ai soprusi dei bianchi rischiava grosso…
Will McKinney, un afroamericano di 19 anni, aveva ucciso un coetaneo bianco, tal Charlie Broadway. Nell’ottobre del 1885 McKinney era stato processato e condannato ad 1 anno di reclusione, evidentemente perché era stato accertato che aveva agito su provocazione e/o in legittima difesa. Ma il 18 febbraio dell’anno seguente una torma di uomini mascherati era piombata sulla prigione di Carrollton e aveva costretto lo sceriffo a consegnare le chiavi della cella dove era rinchiuso McKinney… Il giovane nero era stato trascinato fuori e linciato… Nessuno era stato incriminato per il delitto…
Pochi giorni dopo il linciaggio di Will McKinney, due fratelli mezzosangue indiano e afroamericano, Ed e Charley Brown, furono affrontati e insultati e picchiati a più riprese da un giovane bianco, tal James Liddell, il quale aveva pure intenzionalmente provocato la caduta e la rottura di una botte di melassa che i due fratelli stavano trasportando al locale saloon. Dopo l’ennesima provocazione i due reagirono, ferendo Liddell non gravemente. L’episodio approdò in tribunale, dove Ed e Charley Brown denunciarono l’aggressione ma la giuria – ovviamente composta di soli bianchi – indicò loro come responsabili. Intanto, mentre si teneva l’udienza, gli amici di Liddell organizzarono un gruppo di una sessantina di uomini armati… Costoro bloccarono tutte le vie di fuga e poi fecero irruzione nell’aula sparando su tutti i negri presenti: il bilancio fu di 20 morti, compresi i due fratelli Brown.
Nessuno fu mai nemeno incriminato per la strage…