hey nelly nelly
collins, judy
he's ridin' into town on a sway-back mule
he's got a tall black hat and he looks like a fool
he sure is talkin' like he's been to school
he says it's gettin' late
and he says them black folks should be free
to walk around the same as you and me
he's talkin' about a thing he calls democracy
for the men are cheerin' and the boys are too
they're all puttin' on their coats of blue
i can't sit around here and talk to you
my coat of blue is stained with red
and the man in the tall black hat is dead
but we sure will remember all the things he said
i see white folks and colored walkin' side by side
thy're walking in a column that's a century wide
it was a long and a hard and a bloody ride