This shocking lyric followed the shooting of William Lewis Moore, a civil rights activist, who died in April 1963 staging a lone protest walk to Jackson, Mississippi. The song attempts – arguably fails – to find humour in mocking the murderous attitudes of the south, but the use of brutal dehumanis...
I wanna go back to Mississippi
Where the sandy blossoms kiss the evening breeze
Where the Missisppi mud
Kinda mingles with blood
Of the niggers who are hanging
From the branches in the trees
I wanna go back to Mississippi
So honey don't be late
Up above
There's nothing but a butter-coloured moon
Well down below
They're cutting up a chocolate-coloured coon
So take me back to Mississippi
That All-American state
Mississippi is the state you gotta choose
Where we hate all darkies and the Catholics and the Jews
Well we welcome any man
If he's white and strong and belongs to the Ku Klux Klan
Take me, take me, down to Mississippi
It's the place I long to be
Mississippi, land of the free
So there was a nigga
Going to cast a vote
Took that uppity nigga
And I cut his goddamned throat
Uppity uppity nigga
Where you gonner lay?
If you vote we'll cut your throat
Do da do da day
I wanna go back to Mississippi
Where the centre blossoms kisss the evening breeze
Where MIssisppi mud kinda mingles with blood
Of the niggers who are hanging
From the branches in teh tree
I wanna go back to Mississippi
Where everything's just great
And if you ain't for scared of gaining white folks from the black
Then they won't hesitate from shooting you
Bravely in the back
So carry me home to Mississippi
That all American state
Song of Nostalgia for an All-American State was written by Herbert Kretzmer.
Herbert Kretzmer released Song of Nostalgia for an All-American State on Sat Apr 27 1963.