You declare to see me dimly

Through a glass which will not shine

Though I stand before you boldly

Trim and rank and mocking time

You do own to hear me faintly

As I whisper out of range

While my drums beat out a message

And the rhythms never change

Equality and I will be free

Equality and I will be free

You announce my wings are wanted

That I fly from man to man

But if I'm just a shadow to you

Could you ever understand?

We have lived a painful history

We know a shameful past

But I keep on marching forward

And you keep on coming last

Equality and I will be free

Equality and I will be free

Take the blindness from your vision

Take the padding from your ears

And confess you've heard me crying

And admit you've seen my tears

Hear the tempo so compelling

Hear the blood throb in my veins

Yes, my drums are beaten nightly

And the rhythms never change

Equality and I will be free

Equality and I will be free