Sandy Rapp - Ballad of Sister Spirit

Unfit today, just like yesterday. Repeat Chorus
Ballad of Sister Spirit © Sandy Rapp 1996
I went down to Ovett, Mississippi.
Flew all day then drove an ol' two-lane.
Red tin roofs and junk yards lined the dusty way,
And an ancient mill town spoke of better days.
The armadillos fled along the roadside.
And a buzzard had a rattler in its claws.
Til violet tree trunks told us we were not in Kansas now,
And the barbed wire told us nor were we in Oz.

A purple gate arose to let us enter,
Only when security was cleared.
Later down the drive a dance of ribbons came alive
Camp Sister Spirit magically appeared.
And Brenda sat amidst the flags and flyers,
And Wanda waved hello from on the run.
I had met the Hensons who had made a dream come true
They had built the sister camp and we had come.
Chorus But did you hear Mississippi's still a burnin'
Up in flames, the sacred spaces all around.
And though you know Sister Spirit ain't a-turnin',
They been shootin' at the old camp ground.
Buchanan wrote a scathing little column
Implying they were shooting at themselves
To boost attendance at the campground
He's unaware that shellfire keeps attendance down.
Meanwhile a truck ran Brenda off the highway
And a blackwhite couple caught some special fire.
An automatic discharged eighty-seven rounds one day
And the Caretaker got shot at from a car.
Repeat Chorus
But, the Hensons won a lawsuit filed against em,
For turning Mississippi on its ass.
And the judge is spelling womyn with a y now,
And the farmworkers salute them when they pass.
And a hundred people come each month to campground
For a pantry that the campfolk have on hand.
And I am told that there are those who've learned to love out loud
This living lesbiana in their land.
Final Chorus: So when you hear Mississippi's still a burnin'
Up in flames, the sacred spaces all around.
Remember every Sister Spirit from the journey,
And the Rainbow flyin' high and shinin' through.
For that is Mississippi too.

Written by:
Sandy Rapp

Publisher:
Lyrics © SANDY RAPP

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