No author; Cleveland Gazette, May 12, 1906

In the state of old Missouri,
With their breath of whiskey strong;
Did they lynch three innocent Negroes
Who were guilty of no wrong.

They are innocent! the lady cried,
O God! this is not right!
But long before her voice was heard,
Their souls had taken flight.

But still they were not satisfied,
Even for the lady’s sake;
In their cruel hearts the cowards cried,
We’ll burn them at the stake.

Yes, lynching is too good for them,
Said the brutes as they piled up longs;
We’ll build a red hot fire,
And roast the dirty black dogs.

Every man must take a hand,
Went up the general cheer;
Come on men; don’t be slow,
Of arrest you need not fear.

And soon the fire was burning bright,
High up went the flames with a bound,
The ropes they were hanging to soon burned,
Then their bodies fell to the ground.

Another cheer went up from the crowd
As the flesh for their bones did fall;
Bring on more oil; bring on more logs,
Seemed to be the general call.

The Negroes’ bodies were burned to a crisp,
The mob would laugh and then grin:
In justice to my people, I pray,
That they may suffer for their sin.

On a statue representing justice,
These long rope did they tie;
And three Negroes were hurled into eternity,
Though innocent, were forced to die.

Shame on the state of Missouri,
Shame on you! shame and scorn!
To take the lives of three innocent men,
On that bright Easter morn.

No Easter sermon was heard in Springfield,
No churches were decorated with flowers:
The town was turned into a bloody riot,
While the mob walked the streets for hours.

Oh god! is there no justice,
For the Negroes under the sun;
Must we always be persecuted and lynched,
Must we always be forced to run?

Is this to continue in the land of the free,
That my people must die like dogs,
The flesh burned from their innocent bodies,
Their bones thrown to the hogs?

Oh God in heaven, hear our prayers!
We ask Thee in that grace,
To bring us relief from this terrible curse,
That we may still have faith.

To Governor Folk* we also pray,
That he may use his authority and time
To find each murderer of that mob,
That he may suffer for his crime.

The governor surely has started right,
Offering reward for each murderer there,
And says he will try and convict each one,
And send them to the electric chair.

Long life that noble governor,
Who has promised to be our friend;
We pray that he may convict them all,
And thus bring lynchings to an end.

* Joseph “Holy Joe” Wingate Folk was a Democrat. Before becoming governor of Missouri in 1904, he earned a national reputation for prosecuting corruption in St. Louis. As governor, he promoted Progressive reforms.