It was yesterday morning
I looked in my box for mail.
The letter that I found there
Made me turn right pale.
Just a little old letter,
Wasn’t even one page long -
But it made me wish
I was in my grave and gone.
I turned it over,
Not a word writ on the back.
I never felt so lonesome
Since I was born black.
Just a pencil and paper,
You don’t need no gun or knife -
A little old letter
Can take a person’s life.