My Name Is Emmett Till Emmylou Harris

[Verse 1]
I was born a Black boy, my name is Emmett Till
I walked this earth for 14 years, then one night I was killed
For speaking to a woman whose skin was white as dough
That's a sin in Mississippi, but how was I to know?

[Verse 2]
I'd come down from Chicago to visit with my kin
Up there I was a cheeky kid, I guess I always been
But the harm they put upon me was too hard for what I'd done
For I was just a Black boy, I never hurt no one

[Verse 3]
They took me from my uncle's house, Mose Wright was his name
He'd later stand and, without hesitation, point the blame
At the ones who beat and cut me and shot me with a gun
And threw me in the river like I was trash when they were done

[Verse 4]
I was sent back to my mother, at least what was left of me
She kept my casket open for the whole wide world to see
The awful desecration and the evidence of hate
You could not recognize me, the mutilation was so great

[Chorus]
There came a cry for justice
To be finally fulfilled
All because of me, a black boy
My name is Emmett Till