Maybe your people landed here without a dime.
Maybe at first they had a pretty hard time.
My people were brought here in shackles and chains.
They labored all day and got whipped for their pains.
Til you've spent your life payin' another man's dues,
You ain't never had the blues.
Nobody's ever told you to remember your place.
Nobody's called you "boy" and laughed in your face.
No bus driver's ever said you got to ride in the back.
You've never been pulled over for Driving While Black.
When something bad goes down you ain't the first one they accuse.
So don't tell me you've got the blues.
You were never fire-hosed just marching for your rights.
You've never found a burning cross on your lawn at night.
I keep hoping someday we can all be free,
But not that much has changed for people like me.
Until you've walked a hundred miles in my shoes,
You ain't never had the blues.
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