"Strange Messengers" Lyrics

I looked upon the book of lifeTracing the lines of
face after faceLooking down at their naked feetBound
in chains bound in chainsChains of leather chains of gold
We knew it was wrong but we looked awayAnd paraded
them down the colonial streetsAnd that's how they became enslaved
They came across on the great ships
Mothers separated from their babesHusbands stood on
the auction blockBound in chains bound in chainsChains
of leather chains of gold
Men knew it was wrong but they looked away
And led them to toil in fields of white
As they turned their necks to a bitter landscape
Oh the people I hear them calling
Am I not a man and a brother
Am I not a woman and a sister

History sends us such strange messengers
They come down through timeTo embrace to enrageAnd
in their arms even stranger fruitAnd they swing from the trees
With their vision in flames
Ropes of leather ropes of goldMen knew it was wrong
but they looked awayMessengers swinging from twisted
ropeAs they turned their necks to a bitter landscape
Oh the people I hear them calling
Am I not a man and a brotherAm I not a woman and a
sisterWe will be heard we will be heard