Countryside was cold and still
There were three crosses on the hill
Each one wore a burning hood
To hide its rotten core of wood
And I say father, father I hear an iron sound
Hoof beats on the frozen ground
And downhill the riders came
Lord, it was a cryin' shame
To see the blood upon their whips
To hear the snarlin' from their lips
And I cried mother, mother I feel a stabbing pain
Blood runs down like summers rain
And each one wore a mask of white
To hide his cruel face from sight
And each one sucked a hungry breath
Out of the empty lungs of death
And I say sister, sister, I need you to take my hand
It's always lonely when it's time to stand
He who rides with the Klan
Is a devil and not a man
For underneath his white disguise
I have looked into his eyes
And I say brother, brother, stand by me
It's not so easy to be free
Father, mother, sister, brother, stand by me
It's not so easy to be free
It's not so easy to be free
It's not so easy to be free
Nobody ever said it would be easy
Nobody ever said it would be easy
It's not so easy, no it's not so easy
There were three crosses on the hill
Each one wore a burning hood
To hide its rotten core of wood
And I say father, father I hear an iron sound
Hoof beats on the frozen ground
And downhill the riders came
Lord, it was a cryin' shame
To see the blood upon their whips
To hear the snarlin' from their lips
And I cried mother, mother I feel a stabbing pain
Blood runs down like summers rain
And each one wore a mask of white
To hide his cruel face from sight
And each one sucked a hungry breath
Out of the empty lungs of death
And I say sister, sister, I need you to take my hand
It's always lonely when it's time to stand
He who rides with the Klan
Is a devil and not a man
For underneath his white disguise
I have looked into his eyes
And I say brother, brother, stand by me
It's not so easy to be free
Father, mother, sister, brother, stand by me
It's not so easy to be free
It's not so easy to be free
It's not so easy to be free
Nobody ever said it would be easy
Nobody ever said it would be easy
It's not so easy, no it's not so easy
Contributed by Alessandro - 2010/4/17 - 15:46
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Album "Something Else Again", 1968
Scritta da David e Alan Arkin con lo pseudonimo di David e Alan Gray.
La canzone sii trova anche eseguita dal vivo da Ewan MacColl, Peggy Seeger nell'album "Songs of Struggle" del 1976 e anche interpretata da Gil Scott-Heron nel suo album "Real Eyes" del 1980
L'autore di questa canzone, David Arkin, era insegnante, pittore e scrittore. Nel secondo dopoguerra trovò lavoro negli Studios di Hollywood ma lo perse quasi subito quando, accusato di essere comunista – erano gli anni in cui furibonda impazzava la "caccia alle streghe" - rifiutò di presentarsi a rispondere davanti alla commissione sulle attività anti-americane. La famiglia Arkin fu segnata da questa vicenda e non è certo un caso se questa canzone David e il figlio Alan la firmarono con lo pseudonimo di Gray. E non è neppure un caso se, all'inizio della sua carriera come attore cinematogafico, Alan interpretò due film irriverenti e dissacranti contro i potenti e le loro guerre come "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming!" di Norman Jewison (1968) e "Catch-22" di Mike Nichols (1970).