Intro: G F C G F C G F C G F C
G F C
Who was my mother, who was my father
G F C G
All I've known is a whip upon my back
F C
My skin is yellowed by much more than weakness
Am G F C G C
And wise beyond the years of the blue and the black
G F C
My arms were never strong enough to stir molasses
G F C G
My eyes watch riverboats as they go by
F C ~ Am
Some call me mistress, but I wish that I was cargo
G F C F C ~ Am
Floating down the Brazos in my chariot to the sky
F C
Oh Rachel, won't you lie next to me
Dm Am G C
Tonight and every night to come
G F C
And won't you calm all that's raging inside me
Am G F C G F C G F C
'Cause outside's just a battlefield that Santa Ana won
G F C
My people, they worked from can't see to can't see
G F C G
Traded in and out from the grassy shores
F C ~ Am
They say there's something about me
G F C G C
Flying like a bird, never known freedom before___
G F C
Well, I wear dresses of silks and threaded satins
G F C G
Some gowns were only meant to bear a woman's breast
F C
I'll stand down every white man in this county
Am G F C F C ~ Am
But Columbus you are dying and I'm no different from the rest
F C
Oh Rachel, won't you lie next to me
Dm Am G C
Tonight and every night to come
G F C
And won't you calm all that's raging inside me
Am G F C G F C G F C
Outside's just a battlefield that Santa Ana won
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