“Southern Man, When Will You Pay Them Back?”
Sources Of Reparation Thought In The Liberal White Imagination
No disrespect to the iconic writings of a long line of black intellectuals, from WEB DuBois to James Baldwin and Cornel West or the more recent popularizing writings of Ta-Nehisi Coates, but it was a white Canadian, Neil Young, who introduced the idea of reparations to US liberals (most of whom don’t read the works of black intellectuals) in his 1970 classic song “Southern Man”:
Southern man, better keep your head
Don’t forget what your good book said
Southern change gonna come at last
Now your crosses are burning fast
Southern man
I saw cotton and I saw black
Tall white mansions and little shacks
Southern man, when will you pay them back?
I heard screamin’ and bullwhips cracking
How long? How long? How long?
Southern man, better keep your head
Don’t forget what your good book said
Southern change gonna come at last
Now your crosses are burning fast
Southern man
Lily Belle, your hair is golden brown
I’ve seen your black man comin’ round
Swear by God I’m gonna cut him down
I heard screamin’ and bullwhips cracking
How long? How long? How long?