I come from Alabama and I work a ten pound hammer
And my woman's picking cotton for the bossman on the hill
They work us till they break our back
Beat us cos our skin is black
I guess I'll have to slave till the whip is in the grave
Yeah, when will we be free
I wanna walk down any road
And feel I have my liberty
Well, from day to day I live to die
The scars across my back don't lie
Ain't there anyone out there
To hear my freedom cry
Well, I believe a man's a man who earns his pay as best he can
The colour of his skin don't mean he ain't just like you
Yeah, but white folk here don't give a hell
They think that we were born to smell
Of sweat and dust and dirt
Or plough until we die
Hallelujah
Let me hear you now
When will we be free
I wanna walk down any road
And feel I have my liberty
These shoes I'm wearing every day
Got holes the size of Frisco Bay
I'm praying for the time
When there will come a judgement day
Let me play you some lead here
Ooh, ooh
Well, we all know how long it is since Lincoln made those promises
That one day we would walk along the white side of the street
Now, but there were some bad folk around
That got so riled they shot him down
And there ain't a cop in town
Who wouldn't do the same for me
Yeah, now, when will we be free
I wanna walk down any road
And feel I have my liberty
Well, now, now
When will we be free
Yeah, yeah
When will we be free
Ooh, yeah
When will we be free
Well, now, now
When will we be free
Well, now, now, now, now
When will we be free-acap
