My Name Is Emmett Till

from Where Is Love? (a protest ep) by Lauren Balthrop

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My Name Is Emmett Till // written by Emmylou Harris

This song is the first track in an EP of songs of protest. I will be releasing one new song every two weeks leading up to the November 3rd election. All proceeds go to various organizations supporting voters' rights and outreach for marginalized communities. The proceeds from this song will go to the Black Voters Matter Fund (blackvotersmatterfund.org) whose goal is to increase power in marginalized, predominantly Black communities. Effective voting allows a community to determine its own destiny. "We agree with the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he said, “Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.”

Spread love, not hate. Stand up for love against all odds.

Thank you for listening,
Lauren

lyrics

I was born a black boy
My name is Emmett Till
I walked this earth for fourteen years
Then one night I was killed
For speaking to a woman
Whose skin was as white as dough
That's a sin in Mississippi
But how was I to know

I'd come down from Chicago
To visit with my kin
Up there I was a cheeky kid
I guess I always been
But the harm they put upon me
Was too hard for what I done
For I was just a black boy
I never hurt no one

They took me from my uncle's house
Mose Wright was his name
He'd later stand and without hesitation
Point the blame
At the ones who beat and cut me
And shot me with a gun
Then threw me in the river
Like I was trash when they were done

I was sent back to my mother
At least what was left of me
She kept my casket open
For the whole wide world to see
The awful desecration
And the evidence of hate
You could not recognize me
The mutilation was so great

There came a cry for justice then
To be finally fulfilled
All because of me, a black boy
My name is Emmett Till

But I'd have rather lived
'Til I was too old to die young
Not miss all I left behind
All that might have come
The summer clouds above my head
The grass beneath my feet
The warmth of a good woman
Her kisses soft and sweet

Perhaps to be a father
With a black boy of my own
And watch him grow into
A kinder world than I had known
Where no child would be murdered
For the color of his skin
And love would be the only thing
Inside the hearts of men

They say the horror of that night
Is still haunting heaven still
Where I am one more black boy
My name is Emmett Till

credits

from Where Is Love? (a protest ep), track released August 21, 2020
Recorded at Blackbird Studios by Alex Wilder
Drums recorded by Mark Raudabaugh
Mixed and Mastered by James Paul Mitchell

Performed by:
Lauren Balthrop - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar and Keys
James Paul Mitchel - Acoustic Guitar, Electric Bass, Electric Guitar
Mark Raudabaugh - Drums

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about

Lauren Balthrop Nashville, Tennessee

Lauren Balthrop, a folk-pop singer songwriter hailing from Nashville, has a crystal-fueled voice. Her second album, THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT, is a collection of 11 songs spanning heartbreak, self-doubt and nostalgia coming later this year. Lauren has found her voice in these songs. Look for it later this year on Olivia Records. ... more

laurenbalthrop.com

shows

Jul 2

Green Note

Camden, UK

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