That kind of grace
About the Song
Print source:
Sing Out 37:3
THAT KIND OF GRACE
© 1992 by David Roth and Anne Hills
This song was originally inspired by people who have faced civil rights violations within their communities and families. The forgiveness they displayed goes beyond what would seem humanly possible. Specifically, Mrs. Alpha Robertson whose daughter Carole was killed in the Birmingham church bombing, Beulah Mae Donald whose son was lynched in 1981 by the KKK, and Rodney King, whose violent beating by LA police officers (and their subsequent acquittal in the first trial) provided painful examples of the continuing racial injustice within the U.S. legal system
1 Sunday morning, Birmingham, quiet in the church z
Bombs were planted, House of God, children's blood on the cross Z
And your daughter, she was one, angel without wings Z
How could anyone forgive those who do such things
And when I sing Amazing Grace, your face is what I see
I hope someday that kind of grace will find its way through me
2 Friday evening in Mobile, klansmen killing time
Saw young Michael walking by, he would do just fine
Quiet student, mother's best, pleading for his life
Strung him up to make a point, sharper than a knife
Beulah Mae, his mother stood, people all around
In the courtroom listening, as the truth was found
From her mouth no curses fell, no profanity
"I would do to others what I'd have them do to me…"
3 Thursday afternoon in the car, turned the radio on
The verdict in Los Angeles, oh what have we done
Images of violence, yellow, black and white
Fifty-two dead, millions lost, who can win this fight
On the screen a face of tears, trembling through and through
One we've seen so many times beaten on the news
I could barely hear his words, full of fear and doubt
"People, we can't live like this, we've got to work this out”
Additional lyrics © 1998, 1999, 2012, 2020 by David Roth:
4 Tuesday afternoon...Jonesboro, fire alarm at school
Everyone goes rushing out into bloody pools
Thirteen and eleven years old, playing grown-up games
Mimicking what they’d been taught, now we’ll never be the same
Every year they’re younger now, drugs and knives and guns
Barely old enough to know the depth of what they’ve done
Taken off to juvenile hall, Sheriff shakes his head
A teacher tried to block the shots, gave her life instead
5 Wednesday evening, Wyoming, started in a bar
Ended on a wooden fence, dragged off in a car
Second Friday funeral, countless gathered round
Some were there to mourn the loss, others to confound
Some were there to cry the tears born of grief and rage
Others carried signs that said "A Cure for Fags is Aids”
Matthew Shepard lost his life, his parents lost their son
Now he brings a cause to light, reluctant martyrdom
6 Sunday evening, Florida, went out for a snack
Trayvon turned around for home, never made it back
Followed by a vigilante, sick and angry man
A gun goes off, a boy goes down, here we go again
At first he called it self defense but as the truth was found
The story had too many flaws that start with “Stand Your Ground”
The bottom line ~ a boy is dead, and many lives are crushed
Justice can’t begin to heal this devastating loss
7 December in Connecticut, Christmas round the bend
20 kids & 6 adults and one without a friend
Sandy Hook will never be the way it was before
Neither will a country til we stop this bloody war
The war that comes from isolation, anger, grief and pain
And laws that let a troubled soul act upon his rage
There’s not a single moment left, for now, the die is cast
In memory of twenty seven we draw the line at last
8 Spring in Minneapolis outside a tiny shop
A man is grabbed and cuffed and choked, so much for the cops
Not just for the twenty bucks he tried to spend inside
400 years of tyranny, this is why he died
He died because of prejudice passed on down the line
Where brazen inhumanity is thought to be just fine
And he is not the only one, this list is far too long
Of those who had an unspent life, and this is always wrong
And when I sing Amazing Grace, his face is what I see
I hope someday that kind of grace will find its way through me
© 1992 by David Roth and Anne Hills
This song was originally inspired by people who have faced civil rights violations within their communities and families. The forgiveness they displayed goes beyond what would seem humanly possible. Specifically, Mrs. Alpha Robertson whose daughter Carole was killed in the Birmingham church bombing, Beulah Mae Donald whose son was lynched in 1981 by the KKK, and Rodney King, whose violent beating by LA police officers (and their subsequent acquittal in the first trial) provided painful examples of the continuing racial injustice within the U.S. legal system
1 Sunday morning, Birmingham, quiet in the church z
Bombs were planted, House of God, children's blood on the cross Z
And your daughter, she was one, angel without wings Z
How could anyone forgive those who do such things
And when I sing Amazing Grace, your face is what I see
I hope someday that kind of grace will find its way through me
2 Friday evening in Mobile, klansmen killing time
Saw young Michael walking by, he would do just fine
Quiet student, mother's best, pleading for his life
Strung him up to make a point, sharper than a knife
Beulah Mae, his mother stood, people all around
In the courtroom listening, as the truth was found
From her mouth no curses fell, no profanity
"I would do to others what I'd have them do to me…"
3 Thursday afternoon in the car, turned the radio on
The verdict in Los Angeles, oh what have we done
Images of violence, yellow, black and white
Fifty-two dead, millions lost, who can win this fight
On the screen a face of tears, trembling through and through
One we've seen so many times beaten on the news
I could barely hear his words, full of fear and doubt
"People, we can't live like this, we've got to work this out”
Additional lyrics © 1998, 1999, 2012, 2020 by David Roth:
4 Tuesday afternoon...Jonesboro, fire alarm at school
Everyone goes rushing out into bloody pools
Thirteen and eleven years old, playing grown-up games
Mimicking what they’d been taught, now we’ll never be the same
Every year they’re younger now, drugs and knives and guns
Barely old enough to know the depth of what they’ve done
Taken off to juvenile hall, Sheriff shakes his head
A teacher tried to block the shots, gave her life instead
5 Wednesday evening, Wyoming, started in a bar
Ended on a wooden fence, dragged off in a car
Second Friday funeral, countless gathered round
Some were there to mourn the loss, others to confound
Some were there to cry the tears born of grief and rage
Others carried signs that said "A Cure for Fags is Aids”
Matthew Shepard lost his life, his parents lost their son
Now he brings a cause to light, reluctant martyrdom
6 Sunday evening, Florida, went out for a snack
Trayvon turned around for home, never made it back
Followed by a vigilante, sick and angry man
A gun goes off, a boy goes down, here we go again
At first he called it self defense but as the truth was found
The story had too many flaws that start with “Stand Your Ground”
The bottom line ~ a boy is dead, and many lives are crushed
Justice can’t begin to heal this devastating loss
7 December in Connecticut, Christmas round the bend
20 kids & 6 adults and one without a friend
Sandy Hook will never be the way it was before
Neither will a country til we stop this bloody war
The war that comes from isolation, anger, grief and pain
And laws that let a troubled soul act upon his rage
There’s not a single moment left, for now, the die is cast
In memory of twenty seven we draw the line at last
8 Spring in Minneapolis outside a tiny shop
A man is grabbed and cuffed and choked, so much for the cops
Not just for the twenty bucks he tried to spend inside
400 years of tyranny, this is why he died
He died because of prejudice passed on down the line
Where brazen inhumanity is thought to be just fine
And he is not the only one, this list is far too long
Of those who had an unspent life, and this is always wrong
And when I sing Amazing Grace, his face is what I see
I hope someday that kind of grace will find its way through me
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