Outrage for the execution of willie mcgee
LyricS
That old shoe is bound to walk now
That man right out the door
But this old shoe is bound to walk now
Tell you what the reason's for
This old dollar bought me nothin'
This dollar's sick and frail
But this dollar bought you somethin'
Now your man is free on bail
Some old souls have the courthouse
To see the justice done
Some souls have the courthouse
To let the wrong man run
Some old souls are bound for heaven
Some souls are bound for jail
Some souls can buy each other
And some souls are not for sale
Well you
Take the life of poor black Willie
Take the life because you can
Take the life of poor black Willie
and free another guilty man
Well you
Take the life of poor Black Willie
Take the life in Jesus' name
Take the life of poor Black Willie
and find another man to blame
Do you have no heartbeat?
Do you have no heartbeat pounding inside?
Do you have no heartbeat by which to abide?
Do you have no heartbeat? When you heard that he died,
Did you have no heartbeat?
Well you
Take the life of poor black Willie
Take the life because you can
Take the life of poor black Willie
and free another guilty man
Well you
Take the life of poor Black Willie
Take the life in Jesus' name
Take the life of poor Black Willie
and find another man to blame
Do you have no heartbeat?
Do you have no heartbeat?
c. 2018 Goodnight, Texas - Seriously Serious Songs (ASCAP) / Porch Couch Songs (ASCAP)
Appears on the 2018 album “Conductor”
Recorded by Goodnight, Texas
Mixed by Scott McDowell
Mastered by Jonathan Kirchner
Album version of Outrage for the Execution of Willie McGee
About Willie McGee
Willie McGee was a Black man in Mississippi tried for the alleged rape of a white woman, though people close to him maintained that the interracial relationship was consensual. He could never get a fair trial, thrice being convicted by all-white juries and was sentenced to death, ultimately being executed in 1951.
His final letter to his wife, written the night before the execution, read:
Tell the people the real reason they are going to take my life is to keep the Negro down... They can't do this if you and the children keep on fighting. Never forget to tell them why they killed their daddy. I know you won't fail me. Tell the people to keep on fighting.
Your true husband,
Will McGee.
60 people were present at his execution, while another 1500 people gathered on the lawn of the courthouse to hear the execution being broadcast on radio.
While lynchings are no longer literal, they do still occur. The criminal justice system in the United States has maintained an imbalance against people of color that remains even to this day.
Further reading/listening:
My Grandfather's Execution - NPR
Mississippi Civil Rights Project - Willie McGee
Black Then - Willie McGee
Chicago Tribune Book Review - The Eyes of Willie McGee
Book: The Eyes of Willie McGee: A Tragedy of Race, Sex, and Secrets in the Jim Crow South
Willie McGee in Prison, Laurel, MS 1951 (Getty Images: Robert W Kelley)