Legacy

It is a legacy, it was handed down to me
A poor dirt farmer, a skinny mule
He parts the red clay like it was the Red Sea
It is a legacy to both me and you
You are a black man, I am a white man
We both come from the Southland
Both doing the best we can
Where the grim reaper was my brother's keeper
The way my brother was kept, small wonder Jesus wept

It is a legacy passed down to you and me
What we're taught to believe, we never question these things
It is a legacy, it's a wild and a bitter seed
Blown across those fertile fields where the roots run deep

We both got calloused hands
Blue-collar working men down here in Bubba-land
What's in a name?
Both living rent to rent, some on the government
We are quite different, we are the same

It is a legacy passed down to you and me
What we learned to believe, we never question these things
It is a legacy, it's a wild and a bitter seed
Blown across those fertile fields where the roots run deep

Where the roots run deep
Oh
Oh

Sundays we congregate, praise Jesus, pass the plate
Sitting in our Sunday best, singing hymns and mopping sweat
We learned the golden rule in separate Sunday schools
In a house long divided against itself

It is a legacy passed down to you and me
What we choose to believe, we dare not question these things
It is a legacy, it's a wild and a bitter seed
Blown across those fertile fields where the roots run deep

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