Bye-bye, my baby, I'll rock you to sleep
Sing you a sad song, it might make you weep
Your daddy is dead and he'll never come back
And the reason they killed him, because he was black
I'll tell you a story that you ought to know
It happened in our town a short while ago
Your daddy was walking alone for some air
And a man in the bushes was waiting right there
That man shot your daddy and laughed while he died
Your daddy lay dying with tears in his eyes
He cried for the things that a man leaves undone
And he cried for the dreams that he had for his son
What will you do, son, when you are a man?
Will you learn to live lonely and hate all you can?
Will you try to be happy and try not to see
That all men are slaves till their brothers are free?
Bye-bye, my baby, I'll rock you to sleep
Sing you a sad song, it might make you weep
Your daddy is dead and he'll never come back
And the reason they killed him, because he was black
