The FALL of Tennessee (Country)

They drew the lines with a ruler and a grin Cut the city up so their side could always win Split the neighborhoods, carve the voices thin Call it law and order while the old ghosts grin again The chamber doors slammed shut one by one Microphones went dead before the speaking done Committees cleared out under courthouse light Democracy disappeared in plain sight Oh Tennessee, what have you done? Trading ballots for the barrel of a loaded gun Paint the districts any way you please But stolen voices still ride on the breeze Every cracked district tells the tale Slice the vote up till the people fail Power keeps itself when the maps are bent Freedom ain’t freedom when it’s pre-invented They smile for cameras beneath the dome While whole communities lose their home Not with chains and hoods this time around Just polished shoes and a gavel sound Oh Tennessee, who owns your name? Who profits most from this crooked game? They wave the flag and drop to knees While carving up the vote like butchered meat History whispers through courthouse halls You can whitewash walls but the memory calls Every generation thinks it’s different somehow Till the old machine comes rolling back around Oh Tennessee, hear the people sing You can lock the doors but you can’t kill everything Truth survives beneath the marble freeze And freedom don’t die quietly No… freedom don’t die quietly