Phil Ochs — Ballad of Medgar Evers Live

[Verse 1] In the state of Mississippi many years ago A boy of fourteen years got a taste of Southern law He saw his friend a-hangin', his color was his crime The blood upon his jacket put a brand upon his mind [Chorus] Too many martyrs and too many dead Too many lies, too many empty words were said Too many times for too many angry men Oh, let it never be again [Verse 2] Then the boy became a man, the man became a cause The cause became the hope for the country and its laws They tried to burn his home and they beat him to the ground But deep inside they both knew what it took to bring him down [Chorus] Too many martyrs and too many dead Too many lies, too many empty words were said Too many times for too many angry men Oh, let it never be again [Verse 3] The killer waited by his home hidden by the night As Evers stepped out from his car into the rifle sight He slowly squeezed the trigger, the bullet left his side It struck the heart of every man when Evers fell and died [Chorus] Too many martyrs and too many dead Too many lies, too many empty words were said Too many times for too many angry men Oh, let it never be again [Verse 4] They laid him in his grave while the bugle sounded clear They laid him in his grave when the victory was near While we waited for the future for freedom through the land The country gained a killer and the country lost a man [Chorus] Too many martyrs and too many dead Too many lies, too many empty words were said Too many times for too many angry men Oh, let it never be again Oh, let it never be again