The Voice of Alabama

Annotation

Racist group, on the Crowley, Louisiana-based record label Reb Rebel - which contained an image of the confederate flag on its standard 7" releases. Founded by J.D. Miller - he was a self-proclaimed segregationist. Despite, this, he owned an interracial studio band, and recorded many African-American artists on other labels he owned. But this label was saved specially for offensive, hyper-racist material.1. The A-side of this song "Flight NAACP 105)" was a spoken racist novelty about Civil Rights, mocking Martin Luther King, Jr. and African Americans. The B-Side "The Voice of Alabama" took an anti-government and anti-Vietnam War perspective, while featuring patriotic content - the basis of its arguments are State's rights and isolationism. On the issue of Civil Rights, the lyrics complained that federal law enforcement had entered the state: "why did you send combat ready troops all the way down here to my cotton field". In the Vietnam issue, the lyrics asked "why was my kid brother sent to Vietnam", concluding that "we've lost our freedom of speech, our state's rights". So this is one of the few records crossing into both the anti-war / anti-government, and patriotic song categories. Sources1Wikipedia: J. D. "Jay" Miller↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: You say Sir that I ain't noting but an Alabama sharecropper / And as far as these marches and sit-ins is concerned / That I haven't got anything to say, well then tell me Sir / Why next fall when me and young'ens has got the cotton picking... / We still have taxes to pay / And are we not the same Americans that help defend this great country of ours / The Battle of the Belgium Bulge, North Africa, and on Korea's Pork Chop Hill / And if we are Sir, then why did you send combat ready troops all the way down here to my cotton field / Do you take us to be like Hitler's SS men, and would you treat us like some aggressors in some far off land / I hope not Sir / Because like Mr. Lincoln once said, a house divided among itself just ain't never gonna stand / Do you send combat ready troops to threaten all Americans / Or just a few chosen some / And if not Sir, then why was my kid brother sent to Vietnam / Would you have us come to the conclusion that we've lost our freedom of speech, our state's rights, our system of free government / And that we no linger have anything to say / If so Sir, then you must remember when you see the star and stripes proudly waving that it's patriotic Americans / Including some of us here in Alabama that helps keep it that way

Notes

Rebel label, No. 500, Side 2, white label with blue print; "The Voice of Alabama" (J. Norris), Son of Mississippi; Jamil Music, P.O. Box 769, Crowley, La., BMI. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes

Demonstration · Civil Rights · WW2 · Korea · Hitler · Lincoln

In collections

Civil Rights Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years] · US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]