When panthers roamed the delta
I drained your swampy land
I built your railroads
With a hammer in my hand
I picked your cotton
Cut your sugar cane
I’m a man, not your boy
You will call me by my name

I fought with the Rough Riders
On that hill down in Cuba
Dug that canal in Panama
Nearly died of yellow fever
In 1917, Uncle Sam called, I came
I’m a man, not your boy
You will call me by my name

I joined your segregated army
To make the world free
But back home in Alabama
They tried to tar an’ feather me
Some say it’s changin’
But the things remain the same
I’m a man, not your boy
Call me by my name

I’m not your coon, not your negro
Fact is, I might be your kin
My labor made this country
And I’m an equal citizen
Lord knows, I’m still here
Still here to stake my claim
I’m a man not your boy
You will call me by my name
Call me by my name