Stranger In This Land

I was the daughter

Of a little known king

When they came

And put me in a castle

My eyes had never seen

They spoke in tongues

I've never heard

They took me to the sea

At the edge of the earth

I journied tempest waters

Reached these distant shores

My clothes are tattered

And my soul is worn

I bore a daughter

In captivity

They came late one night

To take her away from me

I cried and I cried

Oh, Lord have mercy on me

Can't they see

That little girl

Is royalty

I held my ground

And took my stand

Can't help

Feeling sometimes

That I'm a stranger

In this land

In this land of mine

My mother used

To cook and clean

For the rich folks

On the hill

Made sure

I got an education

And could hardly

Pay the bills

I studied

Schools of thought

And philosophies of man

Started questioning

The contradictions

In this land

I left the classroom

Joined the rallies

In the street

Marching hand in hand

In the Mississippi heat

I spent so many years

Of my life on the move

That confrontation

Was the only thing i knew

Talking unity and how

We gone push on through

Can't even say no more

If anything's improved

I'm a family man

With a wife

And two kids to feed

I dedicated my life

To seeing we succeed

The way I sought to make it

I learned to follow the rules

So we can make sure

Our children visit

The finest schools

Grandmas on the weekends

Going on about the good old days

When decent black folks

Be trying to make a change

My parents used to tell me

To live my life steadfast

But some may ask me

What it is that I have