Well I think whenever there's a deep tragedy, there's also present something of the ridiculous.
So I'd like to do you a song now called Talking Birmingham Jam.
Walking down to Birmingham way down south in Dixieland
I thought that I would stop a while take a vacation southern style
Got some southern hospitality down there in a southern hospital
Well all the signs said welcome in welcome if you're white my friend
Come along and watch the fights while we feed our dogs on civil rights
We believe in segregation, Negroes in one mob, policemen, politicians, dogs in the other
Well I've seen travel in many ways I've traveled in cars and old subways
But in Birmingham some people chose to fly down the street from a fire hose
Doing some hard traveling from hydrants of plenty
Well a pack of dogs was standing by I walked up to them and I said hi
Well I asked one dog what they all were doing he walked up to me and started chewing
It was a black dog seems everybody down there's prejudiced
Well I said there must be some men around there can't be only you dogs in town
They said sure we have old Bull Connor there he goes walking yonder
Throwing some raw meat to the mayor feeding bones to the city council
Well I said there's still something missing here you must have a governor somewhere
I'm sure he's doing his duty he ain't no fool he's blocking out kids from our school
Standing in the doorway cracking jokes getting re-elected
So I asked them why they spent their time with segregation on their minds
They said if you don't like to live this way get out of here go back to the USA
Live with all them Russians, New York agitators
New York agitators
Some say they've passed their darkest hour those moderates are back in power
They'll listen close with open ears they'll help us out in a couple of hundred years
But don't push them whatever you do or else you get those extremists back in
You see Alabama is a sovereign state with sovereign dogs and sovereign hate
They stand for the bible for the constitution they stand against communist revolution
They say it's pinkos like you that freed the slaves
You