1964

Finally free of these chains holding me back
Eternity of despair ends, rejoice for that fact
Use whatever sink you want, sit wherever on the bus
Because they can't hurt you anymore
And slip out of the mindset that they want you dead
A new age is coming, the turmoil has left
I read it in papers and sighed with relief
The end of an era where they treated us weak
As a wise man said, I have a dream
Now that dream becomes real, I'm eager to see
What the future beholds now that people are equal
The tormentors cry that they're told "don't be evil"
The old story goes that they said you should go
Then Jesus turned round and told them you're the same as the rest
That's what the book said
And now I can see the light surrounding me

Five score years ago
A great American
In whose symbolic shadow we stand today
The beacon of hope
Away from injustice
But a hundred years later the same
And we won't be satisfied
Until justice rolls down like waters
And righteousness like a mighty stream
So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow
I still have a dream
A dream that one day
This nation will rise up
And live out the meaning of its creed
We hold these truths to be self-evident
That all men are created equal

On the red hills of Georgia
Former slaves and masters
Will one day meet eye to eye
And in Mississippi
Blinded by oppression
Will become an oasis of peace
Down in Alabama
The black kids and white kids
Rejoice in meetings of harmony
My four little children
Should grow up in a world
Where they're treated for who they will be
So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow
I still have a dream
A dream that one day
This nation will rise up
And live out the meaning of its creed
We hold these truths to be self-evident
That all men are created equal