The Mississippi River, he's a friend of mine
And the people livin' in this town, they can be so fine
There's a big line runnin' straight down old Union Avenue
And it breaks that southern lady's heart in two

There's an old black man sittin' out front of a shotgun house
And on the other side of town there's a rich man sittin' on a velvet couch
Nobody forgives what happened thirty years ago
But we gotta forgive the past and that's for sure

Well, it should be so plain to see
That it comes down to you and me

And if we all just come together
And if we all just take a stand
Oh, we could heal the hurtin' and the broken-hearted people
And everybody understand
Gotta all just come together, yeah

Ridin' down Beale Street, pop tunes on my radio
Well, I love this Delta mama, it's all I know
Well, you know I have a dream about black and white and a state of grace
But it's gonna take more than a dream to fix this place

You know it's hard as it can be
To turn the tide of history

But if we all just come together
And if we all just take a stand
We could heal the hurtin' and the broken-hearted people
Everybody understand

Well, if we all just come together
If we all just take a stand
We could heal the hurtin' and the broken-hearted people
And everybody understand, yeah

We all went to Sunday school and everybody learned the golden rule
I read about the writing on the wall
Learned how Joseph had a nice coat, Noah had a big boat
But then they said sweet Jesus loves us all
And I believe

If we all just come together
If we all just take a stand, yeah yeah yeah
Oh, we could heal the hurtin' and the broken-hearted people
And everybody understand

Well, if we all just come together
Well, if we all just take a stand
We could heal the hurtin' and the broken-hearted people
All across this land
Gotta all just come together, yeah

The Mississippi River, he's a friend of mine
And the people livin' in this town, they can be so fine

Reach out your hand to your brother
Reach out your hand to your sister
Reach out your hand to your brother
Reach out your hand to your sister, sister