I'm taught to be proud,
Still I'm not allowed
To speak and know I'm being heard.
It seems rather strange
Some things never change;
Some lessons they never get learned.
I've come a long ways
Since back in the days
In Dixie, when cotton was king.
The heartache remains
From the storms I've been through
And right now I'm black and blue.
I stayed on my knees
I cried and I grieved
It's hard to forgive and forget.
But memories don't die
And I'm still asking why
Would people treat people like that.
God looks at my skin
I'm lovely to Him;
He made me and said it was good.
But people still judge,
It's so sad but it's true;
God knows why I'm black and blue.
I've nothing to gain by shifting the blame
I'm saying, at last, let the past be the past;
While there is strength in my bones,
I will still journey on.
But I'm not naive, I still do believe that
The last will be first, the servant be served
We're all bound to reap what we sow.
When love finally wins,
Someday hatred will lose
'Till then I'll be black and blue.
One day love will win,
Someday hatred will lose;
Then I still will be black,
But I'll no longer be blue.