Cattle on Calvary

[Verse 1]

It was warm in the jailhouse when Brown fell asleep

A bootful of liquor he borrowed

He dreamed he was colored and waiting to meet

The rich man drawing tomorrow

Headful of cotton, a scent in his nose

A white coat of paint on the steeple

Sharp pins and needles, he cursed as he woke

The smug sleeping town and its people

Sheriff Brown bit through his tongue when he shot at the black boy

That he thought was stealing

Churches burned on the hillside like cattle on calvary

Frightened and thirsty

[Verse 2]

The river swelled up till the valley could feel

Its moving like metal and fury

Brown asked the creek why the lord had to steal

His horse, his house, and his baby

Grasping at branches, still floating downstream

He was scared, unfamiliar, and stranded

He jumped on a dog and broke its neck on a tree

His feet numb but once again planted

Sheriff Brown bit through his tongue

When he screamed like a soldier for justice and mercy

Churches burned on the hillside like cattle on calvary

Frightened and thirsty

[Verse 3]

Brown left the jail for a bar across town

A street where the weight left his shoulders

He walked through the door, finding no one around

But Jesus in a booth in the corner

He rubbed at his eyes, turned his radio off

Seeing but far from believing

When Jesus stood up with a thick southern drawl

And said, "Brown, I'm the nigga you're seeking"

Sheriff Brown bit through his tongue when he strung up the savior

From a hook on the ceiling

Churches burned on the hillside like cattle on calvary

Dumb of their freedom