Talking Birmingham Jam

Lyrics for Talking Birmingham Jam

Walkin' down to Birmingham Way down south in Dixieland I thought that I would stop awhile Take a vacation Southern style Got some Southern hospitality Down there in a Southern hospital Well, all the signs said, "Welcome in, son" But governor Wallace and Rin Tin Tin They said, "Come along and watch the fights While we feed our dogs on civil rights" Now, don't get us wrong Some of our best Negroes are friends 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 Doin' some hard travelin' From hydrants of plenty Well, a pack of dogs was standin' by I walked up to them and I said, "Hi" Well, I asked one dog what they all were doin' He walked up to me and started chewin' I said, "Hold it, I'm from the ASPCA" Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Agitators And I said there must be some men around There can't be only you dogs in town They said, "Sure we have old Bull Conner There he goes, walkin' yonder Throwin' some raw meat to the mayor Feedin' bones to the City Council" You know, governor Wallace doesn't mean no harm Can't you see? He's got lot of charm He's protecting us, whites, both the rich and poor Standin' in the schoolhouse door Crackin' jokes Talkin' to Huntley-Brinkley Serving jury duty Gettin' reelected So, I asked em' why they spend their time With segregation on their mind They said, "If you don't like to live this way Get outta here, go back to the U.S.A Live with all them Russians New York folk singers" Some say they've passed their darkest hour Those moderates are back in power Oh, listen close with open ears They'll help us out in a couple a hundred years But don't push 'em, 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" And they're right