Name: Southern Reconstruction
Duration: P00H04M02S
Description: White resentment was intense during the period known as Reconstruction, following the Civil War. Rapid advancement for the formerly enslaved was followed by a rapid disintegration into Jim Crow. Dig deeper at stage.originsofwhiteness.com/songs/southern-reconstruction.

Southern Reconstruction

from Origins of Whiteness by Daniel Portis-Cathers

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White resentment was intense during the period known as Reconstruction, following the Civil War. Rapid advancement for the formerly enslaved was followed by a rapid disintegration into Jim Crow. Dig deeper at stage.originsofwhiteness.com/songs/southern-reconstruction.

lyrics

‘63 we lost the South
Our sacred cow, our noble cause
Our heritage was ripped away,
Our way of life was sacrificed
To Lincoln's law, a wicked wedge
A power play for Blue and Gray

Years and years of grinding toil
In blood and soil, our precious lives
For God and kin, we gave our all
We scrimped and saved and taught our slaves
To tow the line, sink or swim
Run or crawl, to rise or fall

Now we've been scammed
And I'll be damned
If we'll allow a colored man
To walk in here and take command
Of any inch of southern land
Our home, our space
Take away the colored race
We will never be replaced

All we want is freedom
We want freedom of our own
North is not our beacon
We can find our way alone
Kiss and call it even
Leave and we can let it go away then
We can all forget the crying
And the million dead or dying
Talk the owners into hiring
Bring the buyers back to buying
Get suppliers re-supplying
Market engines up and firing
Nothing sounds as gratifying

3. ‘69 we'd seen enough
To call their bluff, the growing mass
Of former slaves had gained control
Through legal fights and voting rights
New laws were passed, they came in waves
In fits and throes like body blows

Now we aim to make it clear
The law down here may seem insane
Might hunt you down and hang you high
Remember jury and the judge
Are all the same for Black and Brown
Wrong or right, we're always White

Now we've been scammed
And I'll be damned
If we'll allow a colored man
To walk in here and take command
Of any inch of southern land
Our home, our space
Take away the colored race
We will never be replaced

credits

from Origins of Whiteness, released February 19, 2023

license

about

Deep_Sea_Music Portland, Oregon

Composer/producer Daniel Portis-Cathers draws from world class talent to produce music for film, television and the web. He has operated Deep Sea Music, Inc. since 1984.