Sticks And Stones
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Lyrics
In Okemah, Oklahoma
On a Sunday afternoon
In the Crystal Theater
To sing a Woody Guthrie tune
About one Laura Nelson
And her baby and her son
A song that Woody wrote
That was hardly ever sung
Sticks and stones can break your bones
But words can break your heart
She told me that someone behind her
Spoke out in the dark
Words filled with hatred
And peppered with disgrace
Meant to cut her to the quick
And put her in her place
I looked around that room to see
From where she heard that talk
There three seats were empty
Where the haters had to walk
Rather than to sit behind
Someone of different race
She was the only person
Of color in that place
She told me that the song I sang
Made everything alright
When the haters left she felt
The darkness turn to light
But the song that I was singing
Was darker than their sin
It was about a lynching
In the town that we were in
But she said that song redeemed the room
And sent them on their way
With their guilt in front of them
The haters could not stay
So here's to Laura Nelson
And her baby and her son
And here's to that young woman
Who told me "job well done"
Sticks and stones can break your bones
But words can break your heart