Stranger in This Land

I was the daughter of a little known king
When they came and put me in a castle
My eyes had never seen they spoke in tongues
I've never heard they took me to the sea
At the edge of the earth
I journied tempest waters
Reached these distant shores
My clothes are tattered and my soul is worn
I bore a daughter in captivity
They came late one night
To take her away from me i cried and I cried
Oh, Lord have mercy on me can't they see
That little girl is royalty

I held my ground and took my stand
Can't help feeling sometimes
That I'm a stranger in this land
In this land of mine

My mother used to cook and clean
For the rich folks on the hill
Made sure i got an education
And could hardly pay the bills
I studied schools of thought
And philosophies of man started questioning
The contradictions in this land
I left the classroom joined the rallies
In the street marching hand in hand
In the Mississippi heat
I spent so many years of my life on the move
That confrontation was the only thing i knew
Talking unity and how
We gone push on through
Can't even say no more
If anything's improved

I'm a family man with a wife
And two kids to feed i dedicated my life
To seeing we succeed
The way I sought to make it
I learned to follow the rules
So we can make sure our children visit
The finest schools grandmas on the weekends
Going on about the good old days
When decent black folks
Be trying to make a change
My parents used to tell me
To live my life steadfast
But some may ask me what it is that I have