[Distorted Blues Sample Intro with 808 beat drop] [Introduction] War was over, freedom finally came, But freedom without land was freedom in name. Freedmen needed farms, food, money, and seed— The landowners saw opportunity in that need. [Chorus] Step one--Sign that line, get that land, get that seed, Step two--liv on credit for what you gonna need, Step 3--sweat and labor, plant and harvest, cotton chop, Step 4--let the landlord go and sell that cotton crop, Step 5--Settle up, big surprise, you're overcharged, Step 6--You owe more, debt galore, your problems got enlarged, Now the cycle gonna continue, so what you gonna do? Trying to provide, but they'll take it all from you Mouths to feed, babes in need, freedom fading fast as it came, Chains of debt, no fortune yet that's the name of the sharecrop game [Verse 1 — How It Started] Freedmen wanted farmland, something of their own, A place to raise a family, build a future, build a home. But most had no money, no wagon, mule, or plow, So the landowner said, “You can work my acres now.” He owned the land, the cabin, every tool and seed, And promised half the harvest for the labor he would need. But he wrote the contract, kept the books, controlled the sale— From the very first agreement, he could tip the scale. [Chorus] Step one--Sign that line, get that land, get that seed, Step two--liv on credit for what you gonna need, Step 3--sweat and labor, plant and harvest, cotton chop, Step 4--let the landlord go and sell that cotton crop, Step 5--Settle up, big surprise, you're overcharged, Step 6--You owe more, debt galore, your problems got enlarged, Now the cycle gonna continue, so what you gonna do? Trying to provide, but they'll take it all from you Mouths to feed, babes in need, freedom fading fast as it came, Chains of debt, no fortune yet that's the name of the sharecrop game [Verse 2 — Work and Hardship] Up before the sunrise, working through the heat, Cotton in the field but little food to eat. Clothing bought on credit, flour from the store— Every basic need just made the family owe more. Black Codes blocked freedom, unfair courts backed the deal, Violence and discrimination made the pressure real. Then the owner sold the harvest and announced the final sum: “You owe more than you earned—come back when springtime comes.” [Chorus] Step one--Sign that line, get that land, get that seed, Step two--liv on credit for what you gonna need, Step 3--sweat and labor, plant and harvest, cotton chop, Step 4--let the landlord go and sell that cotton crop, Step 5--Settle up, big surprise, you're overcharged, Step 6--You owe more, debt galore, your problems got enlarged, Now the cycle gonna continue, so what you gonna do? Trying to provide, but they'll take it all from you Mouths to feed, babes in need, freedom fading fast as it came, Chains of debt, no fortune yet that's the name of the sharecrop game [Verse 3 — Generations] One year became ten, and the decades rolled, Children worked the same land their parents worked before. Black families suffered most; poor whites got trapped too, Growing all the cotton while the debt kept breaking through. Machines and migration slowly changed the Southern land, But sharecropping lasted longer than the system’s makers planned. In places it survived into the nineteen-sixties’ days— Generations caught inside that six-step maze. [Final Chorus] Step one--Sign that line, get that land, get that seed, Step two--liv on credit for what you gonna need, Step 3--sweat and labor, plant and harvest, cotton chop, Step 4--let the landlord go and sell that cotton crop, Step 5--Settle up, big surprise, you're overcharged, Step 6--You owe more, debt galore, your problems got enlarged, Now the cycle gonna continue, so what you gonna do? Trying to provide, but they'll take it all from you Mouths to feed, babes in need, freedom fading fast as it came, Chains of debt, no fortune yet that's the name of the sharecrop game [Distorted Blues Sample ontro with 808 beat drop]
