Em G Am In the state of Mississippi many years ago D Em A boy of 14 years got a taste of southern law Em G Am He saw his friend a hanging and his color was his crime Am D Em And the blood upon his jacket left a brand upon his mind Am D G Em CHORUS: Too many martyrs and too many dead Am D G Em Too many lies too many empty words were said Am D G Em Too many times for too many angry men Am D Em Oh let it never be again His name was Medgar Evers and he walked his road alone Like Emmett Till and thousands more whose names we'll never know 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* 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* And they laid him in his grave while the bugle sounded clear 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*