It isn't nice to block the doorway
It isn't nice to go to jail
There are nicer ways to do it
But the nice ways always fail.
It isn't nice, it isn't nice
You told us once, you told us twice
But if that is Freedom's price
We don't mind.
It isn't nice to carry banners
Or to sit in on the floor
Or to shout our cry of Freedom
At the hotel and the store.
It isn't nice, it isn't nice
You told us once, you told us twice
But if that is Freedom's price
We don't mind.
We have tried negotiations
And the three-man picket line,
Mr. Charlie didn't see us
And he might as well be blind.
Now our new ways aren't nice
When we deal with men of ice
But if that is Freedom's price
We don't mind.
How about those years of lynchings
Another man shot in the back
Did you say it wasn't proper
Did you stand upon the track?
You were quiet just like mice
Now you say we aren't nice
And if that is Freedom's price
We don't mind.