Lyrics:

Lord, why was I born in Mississippi
When it's so hard to get ahead?
Why was I born in Mississippi
When it's so hard to get ahead?
Every black child born in Mississippi
You know the poor child was born dead
When he came into the world
The doctor spank him, the black baby cry
When he came into the world
The doctor spank him, the black baby cry
Everybody thought he had a life
And that's when the black baby died
He will never speak his language
The poor baby will never speak his mind
Lord, he will never speak his language
The poor baby will never speak his mind
The poor child will never know his mind
Why in the world he's so poor?
Lord, why was I born in Mississippi
When it's so hard to get ahead?
Lord, why was I born in Mississippi
When it's so hard to get ahead?
Every black child born in Mississippi
You know the poor child was born dead