[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 n***a 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