Lyrics

Old Black Mary was down one
She had nothing to lose
She went upstairs, crept down the hallway
Knocking on room 22
She said 'sir won't you let me in
As you can see by the color of my skin'

I wanna tell you my story
About life down in the South
Raised my family down on my knees
Scrubbing floors for the white folks in town
Raised my boy proud and strong
And he never did no one wrong

But I remember the day
I heard a knock on the door
Same old white folks
Had him down on the floor
That was the day, they took him away
Oh Lord, it was too late to pray

The hangman was waiting
With a rope in his hand
Hood on his head, hate in his heart, a life in his hands
You could beg, you could plead, you could cry, you could shout
Oh sir, won't you hear me out

Cause you were the judge, and you were the jury
You were the witness, you were the fury
Down on your knees, it's time to pray
Get ready for your Judgment Day'

Old Black Mary, pulled a razor from her coat
Raised the long arm of justice
Cut a smile in his throat
Down on the rug, covered in blood, she wrote
'Ye shall reap what you sow'

Now Old Black Mary
She's red, black, and blue
Crawling the backstreets
Singing her tune
Where will it end
Such sweet revenge
Look out, she's coming for you