Song Lyrics

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.

Sandy Rapp

The duration of Ballad of Sister Spirit is 4:26 minutes and seconds.