Last night i saw lester maddox on a tv show With some smart-a** new york j** And the j** laughed at lester maddox And the audience laughed at lester maddox too Well, he may be a fool but he's our fool If they think they're better than him they're wrong So i went to the park and i took some paper along And that's where i made this song We talk real funny down here We drink too much and we laugh too loud We're too dumb to make it in no northern town And we're keepin' the n******gs down We got no-necked oilmen from texas And good ol' boys from tennessee And colleges men from lsu Went in dumb - come out dumb too Hustlin' 'round atlanta in their alligator shoes Gettin' drunk every weekend at the barbecues And they're keepin' the n******gs down Chorus We're rednecks, rednecks And we don't know our a** from a hole in the ground We're rednecks, we're rednecks And we're keeping the n******gs down Now your northern n******g's a negro You see he's got his dignity Down here we're too ignorant to realize That the north has set the n******g free Yes he's free to be put in a cage In harlem in new york city And he's free to be put in a cage in the south-side of chicago And the west-side And he's free to be put in a cage in hough in cleveland And he's free to be put in a cage in east st. louis And he's free to be put in a cage in fillmore in san francisco And he's free to be put in a cage in roxbury in boston They're gatherin' 'em up from miles around Keepin' the n******gs down Chorus