Lyrics

I thought freedom was given to me
And I did not have to pay
That it was mine just for the taking
And it could not slip away
I let them put these shackles on me
And I did not lift a hand
So I have earned this bitter sorrow
I will not be free again

I gave my freedom for a promise
And O, my heart was filled with hope
Kept my eyes upon their smiling faces
So I did not see the dreadful rope
I should have known how they would bind me
Somehow I thought they were my friends
O, I have earned this bitter sorrow
And I will not be free again

A thousand generations
Trying to reach the promised land
Now we stumble and we falter here
I will not be free again

I thought that freedom was the ground I walked on
Always be my natural right
I did not know that they could take it from me
I did not put up any kind of fight
But every day a little more was taken
Like waves that wash away the sand
So I have earned this bitter sorrow
And I will not be free again