Are You Walking There for Me?

Are you walking there for me?
Are you walking there for me?
When you go up to the courthouse
In the town of Albany.
When you're walking up to register,
A gun held at your face,
Are you walking in my place
To make me free.

Here I live in Happy Town
With my freedoms all around,
When I go to cast my ballot
There is none to put me down.
But a man in Mississippi
He will register and die,
And my vote's an empty lie
While that can be.

You are far across the land
And I cannot touch your hand,
But the selfsame flag is flying
At the courthouse where you stand,
And the thug that kicks and beats you
Also drives me to my knee,
While you're standing there for me,
To keep me free.

All the nation's men of law,
They are only men of straw,
While you're being jailed and beaten
Cause you knock at Freedom's door,
And my guarantees of justice
Are a bitter mockery
When they do not reach a hand
To set you free.

Would I be as brave as you?
Would I live through what you do?
Would I face the whip and pistol
To make Freedom's dream come true?
There are heroes in our country
Great as all in history,
And they're walking there for me,
For you and me.

Here I live in Happy Town
With my freedoms all around,
When I go to cast my ballot
There is none to put me down.
But a man in Mississippi
He will register and die,
And my vote's an empty lie
While that can be.