Hey Nelly Nelly
Hey Nelly, Nelly, come to the window
Hey Nelly, Nelly, look at what I see
Hes ridin into town on a sway-back mule
Hes got a tall black hat and he looks like a fool
He sure is talkin like hes been to school, and its 1853
Hey Nelly, Nelly, listen what hes sayin
Hey Nelly, Nelly, he says its gettin late
And he says them black folks should be free
To walk around the same as you and me
Hes talkin about a thing he calls democracy, and its 1858
Hey Nelly, Nelly, hear the band a-playing
Hey Nelly, Nelly, hand me down my gun
For the men are cheerin and the boys are too
Theyre all puttin on their coats of blue
I cant sit around here and talk to you, and its 1861
Hey Nelly, Nelly, come to the window
Hey Nelly, Nelly, Ive come home alive
My coat of blue is stained with red
And the man in the tall black hat is dead
But we sure will remember all the things he said, in 1865
Hey Nelly, Nelly, come to the window
Hey Nelly, Nelly, look at what I see
I see white folks and colored walkin side by side
Thyre walking in a column thats a century wide
It was a long and a hard and a bloody ride, in 1963