Chords for Phil Ochs - Here's to the State of Mississippi

_ _ _ _ [D#m] _ _ _ [C#] _
_ _ _ Here's to the state of [C#] Mississippi _ For [F#] underneath her borders the [E] devil draws
no line [F#] If you drag her muddy rivers, [G#m] nameless [E] bodies
you will find [F#] Oh, the fat trees of the forest [E] have hit a
thousand crimes _ [F#] The calendar's [D#m] lying [G#m] when it reads the [C#] present
time [F#] Oh, here's [D#m] to the land you've torn [F#] out the
heart of Mississippi, [D#m] find yourself [C#] another country
[F#] to be part of _ _ _ _ And [D#m] here's to the people [C#] of Mississippi
_ _ [F#] Who say the folks up north, [E] they just don't understand
[F#] And they tremble in the shadows [E] at the thunder of the Klan
[F#] Oh, the sweating of their souls [E] can wash the blood from off their hands
[F#] For they smile and [D#m] shrug their [G#m] shoulders at the [C#] murder of a man
[F#] Oh, here's to [D#m] the land you've [F#] torn out the heart of
Mississippi, [D#m] find yourself [D#] another country [F#] to be part of _ _ _ _ _
And [D#m] here's to the schools [C#] of Mississippi _ Where [F#] they're teaching all the children [E] that
they don't have to care [F#] All the rudiments of hatred [E] are present everywhere
[D#m] And every single [C#] classroom is [E] a factory of despair
_ _ [D#m] And there's nobody learning [G#m] such a foreign [C#] word as fair
Oh, [G#] here's [D#m] to the land you've torn [F#] out the heart of
Mississippi, [D#m] find yourself [C#] another country to be part of
_ And [C#] here's to the cops of Mississippi _ _ They're [F#] chewing their tobacco as [E] they lock
the prison door [F#] And their bellies bounce inside them [E] when they
knock you to the floor [F#] No, they don't like taking prisoners [E] in their
private little war _ [F#] And behind their [D#m] broken badges [G#m] there are [C#] murderers
and more [F#] Oh, [D#m] here's to the land you've torn [F#] out the
heart of Mississippi, find yourself [C#] another country [F#] to be part of _ _ _
And [D#m] here's to the judges [C#] of Mississippi _ Who [F#] wear the robe of honor [E] as they crawl into
the court [F#] They're guarding all the bastions [E] of their
phony legal fort [F#] Oh, justice is a stranger [E] when the prisoners
report [F#] When the black [D#m] man stands accused the trial
[C#] is always short [G#] Oh, [D#m] here's to the land you've torn [F#] out the
heart of Mississippi, find yourself [C#] another country [F#] to be part of
_ _ _ _ And [D#m] here's to the government [C#] of Mississippi _ _ In [F#] the swamp of their bureaucracy [E] they're
always bogging down [F#] And criminals are posing as the [E] mayors of
the towns [F#] And they hope that no one sees the [E] sights and
no one hears the sounds [F#] And the speeches of the governor are the [C#] ratings
of a clown [F#] Oh, here's to [D#m] the land you've torn [F#] out the
heart of Mississippi, [D#m] find yourself [C#] another country [F#] to be
part of _ _ _ _ And here's to the laws [C#] of Mississippi
_ _ _ _ _ [F#]
Congressmen will gather [E] in a circus of delay [F#] While the Constitution's drowning [E] in an ocean
of decay [F#] Unwed mothers should be sterilized, [E] I've
even heard them say [F#] Yes, corruption [D#m] can be classic in [G#m] the Mississippi
[C#] Way _ [D#m] Oh, here's to the land you've torn [F#] out the
heart of Mississippi, [D#m] find yourself [C#] another country [F#] to be part of _
_ _ _ And [D#m] here's to the churches [C#]
of Mississippi _ _ Where [F#] the cross once made of silver [E] now is
caked with rust [F#] And the Sunday morning sermons [E] pander to their
lust [F#] Oh, the fallen face of Jesus [E] is choking in
the dust And heaven only knows [G#m] in which God [C#] they can
trust Oh, here's to the land you've torn [F#] out the
_ _ Mississippi, [D#m] find yourself [C#] another country to [F#] be part of _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _