Well, I killed a man in Birmingham I hit him with a tire iron He did not move, and I do not give a damn I've been working here like a slavin' mule Sucking the earth of dry crude Looking for a way out of it all
Cops are coming I can feel 'em here My back is crawling with standing hair Wouldn't mind to see a few pigs fall
So take me down to the river My blood all on the floor 'Cause I don't know if I can carry this weight much longer anymore Take me up the mountain On a cloud bound for the sky Don't go prayin' for me because tonight I'm prepared to die
That night out there in Birmingham, that boy he tried to rob me I did not want to, but I had to show that boy the real me That night I often wonder what my tombstone would say Would it mention any of my good or just evil in my days? The dust has not settled, from the boys who busted in I am not a bad man but there's bullets in my skin
Take me down to the river My blood all on the floor 'Cause I don't know if I can carry this weight much longer anymore Take me up the mountain On a cloud bound for the sky Don't go prayin' for me because tonight I'm prepared to die
