To the man that waited on me at the Starbucks down on Main, I hope you When I put on that t-shirt, the only I meant to say is I'm a Skynyrd fan The red on my chest somehow is like the elephant in the corner of the south And I just walked him right in the Just a proud rebel son with an 'ol can of Lookin' I got a lot to learn but from my point of view
I'm just a white man comin' to you the southland Tryin' to understand it's like not to be I'm proud of where I'm from but not we've done And it ain't you and me can re-write history Our generation didn't start this We're pickin' up the pieces, walkin' on eggshells, fightin' over yesterday And caught southern pride and southern blame
They called it Reconstruction, fixed the buildings, some tears We're still siftin' through the rubble a hundred-fifty years I try to put myself in shoes and that's a good place to begin But it ain't like I can walk a mile in someone else's
'Cause I'm a white man livin' in the Just like you I'm more what you see I'm proud of where I'm from but not we've done And it ain't like you and me can re-write Our generation didn't this nation And we're still for the mistakes That a bunch of folks made long before we And between southern pride and southern blame
Dear Mr. White Man, I wish you What the world is like when you're livin' in the hood because my pants are saggin' doesn't mean I'm up to no good You should try to get to know me, I wish you would Now my chains are gold but I'm misunderstood I wasn't there Sherman's March turned the south into firewood I want you to get but be a slave I never could Feel like a new fangled Django, dodgin' white hoods So when I see that white cowboy hat, I'm thinkin' not all good I guess we're both guilty of judgin' the cover not the I'd love to buy you a beer, conversate and the air But I see that red flag and I think you wish I wasn't
I'm just a man (If you judge my do-rag) Comin' to you the southland (I judge your red flag) Tryin' to understand it's like not to be
I'm proud of where I'm (If you don't judge my chains) But not everything we've (I'll the iron chains) It ain't you and me can re-write history (Can't history baby)
Oh, (The relationship the Mason-Dixon needs some fixin') I hope you understand what this is all (Quite frankly I'm a black Yankee but I've been about this lately) I'm a son of the new (The past is the past, you me) And I want to make things right (Let be bygones) Where all that's left is pride (RIP Robert E. Lee but I've gotta Abraham Lincoln for freeing me, know what I mean) It's real, it's truth