I come from Alabama and I work a ten pound hammer And my womans picking cotton for the bossman on the hill They work us till they break our back And beat us cos our skin is black I guess I'll have to slave till the whip is in the grave When will we be free I wanna walk down any road And feel we have our liberty From day to day we live to die The scars across my back don't lie Ain't there anyone out there To hear my freedom cry Now I believe a man's a man who earns his pay as best he can The colour of his skin don't mean that he ain't just like you But white folk here don't give a hell They think that we were born to smell Of sweat and dust and dirt And pull a plough until we die When will we be free I wanna walk down any road And feel we have our 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 You all know how long it is since Lincoln made their promices That one day we would walk alone the white side of the street But there was some bad folk around Who got so riled they shot him down And there ain't a cop in town Who wouldn't do the same for me When will we be free I wanna walk down any road And feel I've got my liberty When will we be free When will we be free When will we be free When will we be free